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"Maurice Merleau-Ponty",
"Art",
"Did he create art?",
"Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression.",
"What are the distinctions between them?",
"sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language",
"What is repeated?",
"distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression.",
"What are these modes of expression?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty"
]
| C_ab5979e60f144e2d9121eb1b0a2f4bc1_0 | Is his art usually based on language and speaking? | 6 | Is Maurice Merleau-Ponty's art usually based on language and speaking? | Maurice Merleau-Ponty | Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression. This distinction appears in Phenomenology of Perception (p. 207, 2nd note [Fr. ed.]) and is sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language (le langage parle et le langage parlant) (The Prose of the World, p. 10). Spoken language (le langage parle), or secondary expression, returns to our linguistic baggage, to the cultural heritage that we have acquired, as well as the brute mass of relationships between signs and significations. Speaking language (le langage parlant), or primary expression, such as it is, is language in the production of a sense, language at the advent of a thought, at the moment where it makes itself an advent of sense. It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty and which keeps his attention through his treatment of the nature of production and the reception of expressions, a subject which also overlaps with an analysis of action, of intentionality, of perception, as well as the links between freedom and external conditions. The notion of style occupies an important place in "Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence". In spite of certain similarities with Andre Malraux, Merleau-Ponty distinguishes himself from Malraux in respect to three conceptions of style, the last of which is employed in Malraux's The Voices of Silence. Merleau-Ponty remarks that in this work "style" is sometimes used by Malraux in a highly subjective sense, understood as a projection of the artist's individuality. Sometimes it is used, on the contrary, in a very metaphysical sense (in Merleau-Ponty's opinion, a mystical sense), in which style is connected with a conception of an "uber-artist" expressing "the Spirit of Painting". Finally, it sometimes is reduced to simply designating a categorization of an artistic school or movement. (However, this account of Malraux's notion of style--a key element in his thinking--is open to serious question.) For Merleau-Ponty, it is these uses of the notion of style that lead Malraux to postulate a cleavage between the objectivity of Italian Renaissance painting and the subjectivity of painting in his own time, a conclusion that Merleau-Ponty disputes. According to Merleau-Ponty, it is important to consider the heart of this problematic, by recognizing that style is first of all a demand owed to the primacy of perception, which also implies taking into consideration the dimensions of historicity and intersubjectivity. (However, Merleau-Ponty's reading of Malraux has been questioned in a recent major study of Malraux's theory of art which argues that Merleau-Ponty seriously misunderstood Malraux.) For Merleau-Ponty, style is born of the interaction between two or more fields of being. Rather than being exclusive to individual human consciousness, consciousness is born of the pre-conscious style of the world, of Nature. CANNOTANSWER | "Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence | Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty (; 14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interest and he wrote on perception, art, politics, religion, biology, psychology, psychoanalysis, language, nature, and history. He was the lead editor of Les Temps modernes, the leftist magazine he established with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in 1945.
At the core of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy is a sustained argument for the foundational role perception plays in our experience of the world. Merleau-Ponty understands perception to be an ongoing dialogue between one's lived body and the world which it perceives, in which perceivers passively and actively strive to express the perceived world in concert with others. He was the only major phenomenologist of the first half of the twentieth century to engage extensively with the sciences and especially with Gestalt psychology. It is through this engagement that his writings became influential in the project of naturalizing phenomenology, in which phenomenologists use the results of psychology and cognitive science.
Merleau-Ponty emphasized the body as the primary site of knowing the world, a corrective to the long philosophical tradition of placing consciousness as the source of knowledge, and maintained that the body and that which it perceived could not be disentangled from each other. The articulation of the primacy of embodiment (corporéité) led him away from phenomenology towards what he was to call “indirect ontology” or the ontology of “the flesh of the world” (la chair du monde), seen in his final and incomplete work, The Visible and Invisible, and his last published essay, “Eye and Mind”.
Merleau-Ponty engaged with Marxism throughout his career. His 1947 book, Humanism and Terror, has been widely (mis)understood as a defence of the Soviet show trials. In fact, this text avoids the definitive endorsement of a view on the Soviet Union, but instead engages with the Marxist theory of history as a critique of liberalism, in order to reveal an unresolved antinomy in modern politics, between humanism and terror: if human values can only be achieved through violent force, and if liberal ideas hide illiberal realities, how is just political action to be decided? Merleau-Ponty maintained an engaged though critical relationship to the Marxist left until the end of his life, particularly during his time as the political editor of the journal Les Temps Modernes.
Life
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was born in 1908 in Rochefort-sur-Mer, Charente-Inférieure (now Charente-Maritime), France. His father died in 1913 when Merleau-Ponty was five years old. After secondary schooling at the lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, Merleau-Ponty became a student at the École Normale Supérieure, where he studied alongside Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Simone Weil, Jean Hyppolite, and Jean Wahl. As Beauvoir recounts in her autobiography, she developed a close friendship with Merleau-Ponty and became smitten with him, but ultimately found him too well-adjusted to bourgeois life and values for her taste. He attended Edmund Husserl's "Paris Lectures" in February 1929. In 1929, Merleau-Ponty received his DES degree (, roughly equivalent to an MA thesis) from the University of Paris, on the basis of the (now-lost) thesis La Notion de multiple intelligible chez Plotin ("Plotinus's Notion of the Intelligible Many"), directed by Émile Bréhier. He passed the agrégation in philosophy in 1930.
Merleau-Ponty was raised as a Catholic. He was friends with the Christian existentialist Gabriel Marcel, and he wrote articles for the Christian leftist journal Esprit, but he left the Church in 1937 because he felt his socialist politics were not compatible with the social and political teaching of the Catholic Church.
An article published in French newspaper Le Monde in October 2014 makes the case of recent discoveries about Merleau-Ponty's likely authorship of the novel Nord. Récit de l'arctique (Grasset, 1928). Convergent sources from close friends (Beauvoir, Elisabeth "Zaza" Lacoin) seem to leave little doubt that Jacques Heller was a pseudonym of the 20-year-old Merleau-Ponty.
Merleau-Ponty taught first at the Lycée de Beauvais (1931–33) and then got a fellowship to do research from the . From 1934 to 1935 he taught at the Lycée de Chartres. He then in 1935 became a tutor at the École Normale Supérieure, where he tutored a young Michel Foucault and Trần Đức Thảo and was awarded his doctorate on the basis of two important books: La structure du comportement (1942) and Phénoménologie de la Perception (1945). During this time, he attended Alexandre Kojeve's influential seminars on Hegel and Aron Gurwitsch's lectures on Gestalt psychology.
In the spring of 1939, he was the first foreign visitor to the newly established Husserl Archives, where he consulted Husserl's unpublished manuscripts and met Eugen Fink and Father Hermann Van Breda. In the summer of 1939, as France entered war against Germany, he served on the frontlines in the French army, where he was wounded in battle in June 1940. Upon returning to Paris in the fall of 1940, he married Suzanne Jolibois, a Lacanian psychoanalyst, and founded an underground resistance group with Jean-Paul Sartre called "Under the Boot". He participated in an armed demonstration against the Nazis during the Liberation of Paris.
After teaching at the University of Lyon from 1945 to 1948, Merleau-Ponty lectured on child psychology and education at the Sorbonne from 1949 to 1952.
He was awarded the Chair of Philosophy at the Collège de France from 1952 until his death in 1961, making him the youngest person to have been elected to a chair.
Besides his teaching, Merleau-Ponty was also political editor for the leftist Les Temps modernes from the founding of the journal in October 1945 until December 1952. In his youth he had read Karl Marx's writings and Sartre even claimed that Merleau-Ponty converted him to Marxism. While he was not a member of the French Communist Party and did not identify as a Communist, he laid out an argument justifying the Soviet show trials and violence for progressive ends in general in the work Humanism and Terror in 1947. However, about three years later, he renounced his earlier support for political violence, and he rejected Marxism and advocated a liberal left position in Adventures of the Dialectic (1955). His friendship with Sartre and work with Les Temps modernes ended because of that, since Sartre still had a more favourable attitude towards Soviet communism. Merleau-Ponty was subsequently active in the French non-communist left and in particular in the Union of the Democratic Forces.
Merleau-Ponty died suddenly of a stroke in 1961 at age 53, apparently while preparing for a class on René Descartes, leaving an unfinished manuscript which was posthumously published in 1964, along with a selection of Merleau-Ponty's working notes, by Claude Lefort as The Visible and the Invisible. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris with his mother Louise, his wife Suzanne and their daughter Marianne.
Thought
Consciousness
In his Phenomenology of Perception (first published in French in 1945), Merleau-Ponty develops the concept of the body-subject (le corps propre) as an alternative to the Cartesian "cogito". This distinction is especially important in that Merleau-Ponty perceives the essences of the world existentially. Consciousness, the world, and the human body as a perceiving thing are intricately intertwined and mutually "engaged". The phenomenal thing is not the unchanging object of the natural sciences, but a correlate of our body and its sensory-motor functions. Taking up and "communing with" (Merleau-Ponty's phrase) the sensible qualities it encounters, the body as incarnated subjectivity intentionally elaborates things within an ever-present world frame, through use of its pre-conscious, pre-predicative understanding of the world's makeup. The elaboration, however, is "inexhaustible" (the hallmark of any perception according to Merleau-Ponty). Things are that upon which our body has a "grip" (prise), while the grip itself is a function of our connaturality with the world's things. The world and the sense of self are emergent phenomena in an ongoing "becoming".
The essential partiality of our view of things, their being given only in a certain perspective and at a certain moment in time does not diminish their reality, but on the contrary establishes it, as there is no other way for things to be copresent with us and with other things than through such "Abschattungen" (sketches, faint outlines, adumbrations). The thing transcends our view, but is manifest precisely by presenting itself to a range of possible views. The object of perception is immanently tied to its background—to the nexus of meaningful relations among objects within the world. Because the object is inextricably within the world of meaningful relations, each object reflects the other (much in the style of Leibniz's monads). Through involvement in the world – being-in-the-world – the perceiver tacitly experiences all the perspectives upon that object coming from all the surrounding things of its environment, as well as the potential perspectives that that object has upon the beings around it.
Each object is a "mirror of all others". Our perception of the object through all perspectives is not that of a propositional, or clearly delineated, perception; rather, it is an ambiguous perception founded upon the body's primordial involvement and understanding of the world and of the meanings that constitute the landscape's perceptual Gestalt. Only after we have been integrated within the environment so as to perceive objects as such can we turn our attention toward particular objects within the landscape so as to define them more clearly. This attention, however, does not operate by clarifying what is already seen, but by constructing a new Gestalt oriented toward a particular object. Because our bodily involvement with things is always provisional and indeterminate, we encounter meaningful things in a unified though ever open-ended world.
The primacy of perception
From the time of writing Structure of Behavior and Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty wanted to show, in opposition to the idea that drove the tradition beginning with John Locke, that perception was not the causal product of atomic sensations. This atomist-causal conception was being perpetuated in certain psychological currents of the time, particularly in behaviourism. According to Merleau-Ponty, perception has an active dimension, in that it is a primordial openness to the lifeworld (the "Lebenswelt").
This primordial openness is at the heart of his thesis of the primacy of perception. The slogan of Husserl's phenomenology is "all consciousness is consciousness of something", which implies a distinction between "acts of thought" (the noesis) and "intentional objects of thought" (the noema). Thus, the correlation between noesis and noema becomes the first step in the constitution of analyses of consciousness. However, in studying the posthumous manuscripts of Husserl, who remained one of his major influences, Merleau-Ponty remarked that, in their evolution, Husserl's work brings to light phenomena which are not assimilable to noesis–noema correlation. This is particularly the case when one attends to the phenomena of the body (which is at once body-subject and body-object), subjective time (the consciousness of time is neither an act of consciousness nor an object of thought) and the other (the first considerations of the other in Husserl led to solipsism).
The distinction between "acts of thought" (noesis) and "intentional objects of thought" (noema) does not seem, therefore, to constitute an irreducible ground. It appears rather at a higher level of analysis. Thus, Merleau-Ponty does not postulate that "all consciousness is consciousness of something", which supposes at the outset a noetic-noematic ground. Instead, he develops the thesis according to which "all consciousness is perceptual consciousness". In doing so, he establishes a significant turn in the development of phenomenology, indicating that its conceptualisations should be re-examined in the light of the primacy of perception, in weighing up the philosophical consequences of this thesis.
Corporeity
Taking the study of perception as his point of departure, Merleau-Ponty was led to recognize that one's own body (le corps propre) is not only a thing, a potential object of study for science, but is also a permanent condition of experience, a constituent of the perceptual openness to the world. He therefore underlines the fact that there is an inherence of consciousness and of the body of which the analysis of perception should take account. The primacy of perception signifies a primacy of experience, so to speak, insofar as perception becomes an active and constitutive dimension.
Merleau-Ponty demonstrates a corporeity of consciousness as much as an intentionality of the body, and so stands in contrast with the dualist ontology of mind and body in Descartes, a philosopher to whom Merleau-Ponty continually returned, despite the important differences that separate them. In the Phenomenology of Perception Merleau-Ponty wrote: “Insofar as I have hands, feet, a body, I sustain around me intentions which are not dependent on my decisions and which affect my surroundings in a way that I do not choose” (1962, p. 440).
Spatiality
The question concerning corporeity connects also with Merleau-Ponty's reflections on space (l'espace) and the primacy of the dimension of depth (la profondeur) as implied in the notion of being in the world (être au monde; to echo Heidegger's In-der-Welt-sein) and of one's own body (le corps propre). Reflections on spatiality in phenomenology are also central to the advanced philosophical deliberations in architectural theory.
Language
The highlighting of the fact that corporeity intrinsically has a dimension of expressivity which proves to be fundamental to the constitution of the ego is one of the conclusions of The Structure of Behavior that is constantly reiterated in Merleau-Ponty's later works. Following this theme of expressivity, he goes on to examine how an incarnate subject is in a position to undertake actions that transcend the organic level of the body, such as in intellectual operations and the products of one's cultural life.
He carefully considers language, then, as the core of culture, by examining in particular the connections between the unfolding of thought and sense—enriching his perspective not only by an analysis of the acquisition of language and the expressivity of the body, but also by taking into account pathologies of language, painting, cinema, literature, poetry and song.
This work deals mainly with language, beginning with the reflection on artistic expression in The Structure of Behavior—which contains a passage on El Greco (p. 203ff) that prefigures the remarks that he develops in "Cézanne's Doubt" (1945) and follows the discussion in Phenomenology of Perception. The work, undertaken while serving as the Chair of Child Psychology and Pedagogy at the University of the Sorbonne, is not a departure from his philosophical and phenomenological works, but rather an important continuation in the development of his thought.
As the course outlines of his Sorbonne lectures indicate, during this period he continues a dialogue between phenomenology and the diverse work carried out in psychology, all in order to return to the study of the acquisition of language in children, as well as to broadly take advantage of the contribution of Ferdinand de Saussure to linguistics, and to work on the notion of structure through a discussion of work in psychology, linguistics and social anthropology.
Art
Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression. This distinction appears in Phenomenology of Perception (p. 207, 2nd note [Fr. ed.]) and is sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language () (The Prose of the World, p. 10). Spoken language (), or secondary expression, returns to our linguistic baggage, to the cultural heritage that we have acquired, as well as the brute mass of relationships between signs and significations. Speaking language (), or primary expression, such as it is, is language in the production of a sense, language at the advent of a thought, at the moment where it makes itself an advent of sense.
It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty and which keeps his attention through his treatment of the nature of production and the reception of expressions, a subject which also overlaps with an analysis of action, of intentionality, of perception, as well as the links between freedom and external conditions.
The notion of style occupies an important place in "Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence". In spite of certain similarities with André Malraux, Merleau-Ponty distinguishes himself from Malraux in respect to three conceptions of style, the last of which is employed in Malraux's The Voices of Silence. Merleau-Ponty remarks that in this work "style" is sometimes used by Malraux in a highly subjective sense, understood as a projection of the artist's individuality. Sometimes it is used, on the contrary, in a very metaphysical sense (in Merleau-Ponty's opinion, a mystical sense), in which style is connected with a conception of an "über-artist" expressing "the Spirit of Painting". Finally, it sometimes is reduced to simply designating a categorization of an artistic school or movement. (However, this account of Malraux's notion of style—a key element in his thinking—is open to serious question.)
For Merleau-Ponty, it is these uses of the notion of style that lead Malraux to postulate a cleavage between the objectivity of Italian Renaissance painting and the subjectivity of painting in his own time, a conclusion that Merleau-Ponty disputes. According to Merleau-Ponty, it is important to consider the heart of this problematic, by recognizing that style is first of all a demand owed to the primacy of perception, which also implies taking into consideration the dimensions of historicity and intersubjectivity. (However, Merleau-Ponty's reading of Malraux has been questioned in a recent major study of Malraux's theory of art which argues that Merleau-Ponty seriously misunderstood Malraux.) For Merleau-Ponty, style is born of the interaction between two or more fields of being. Rather than being exclusive to individual human consciousness, consciousness is born of the pre-conscious style of the world, of Nature.
Science
In his essay "Cézanne's Doubt", in which he identifies Paul Cézanne's impressionistic theory of painting as analogous to his own concept of radical reflection, the attempt to return to, and reflect on, prereflective consciousness, Merleau-Ponty identifies science as the opposite of art. In Merleau-Ponty's account, whereas art is an attempt to capture an individual's perception, science is anti-individualistic. In the preface to his Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty presents a phenomenological objection to positivism: that it can tell us nothing about human subjectivity. All that a scientific text can explain is the particular individual experience of that scientist, which cannot be transcended. For Merleau-Ponty, science neglects the depth and profundity of the phenomena that it endeavors to explain.
Merleau-Ponty understood science to be an ex post facto abstraction. Causal and physiological accounts of perception, for example, explain perception in terms that are arrived at only after abstracting from the phenomenon itself. Merleau-Ponty chastised science for taking itself to be the area in which a complete account of nature may be given. The subjective depth of phenomena cannot be given in science as it is. This characterizes Merleau-Ponty's attempt to ground science in phenomenological objectivity and, in essence, to institute a "return to the phenomena".
Influence
Anticognitivist cognitive science
Merleau-Ponty's critical position with respect to science was stated in his Preface to the Phenomenology: he described scientific points of view as "always both naive and at the same time dishonest". Despite, or perhaps because of, this view, his work influenced and anticipated the strands of modern psychology known as post-cognitivism. Hubert Dreyfus has been instrumental in emphasising the relevance of Merleau-Ponty's work to current post-cognitive research, and its criticism of the traditional view of cognitive science.
Dreyfus's seminal critique of cognitivism (or the computational account of the mind), What Computers Can't Do, consciously replays Merleau-Ponty's critique of intellectualist psychology to argue for the irreducibility of corporeal know-how to discrete, syntactic processes. Through the influence of Dreyfus's critique and neurophysiological alternative, Merleau-Ponty became associated with neurophysiological, connectionist accounts of cognition.
With the publication in 1991 of The Embodied Mind by Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch, this association was extended, if only partially, to another strand of "anti-cognitivist" or post-representationalist cognitive science: embodied or enactive cognitive science, and later in the decade, to neurophenomenology. In addition, Merleau-Ponty's work has also influenced researchers trying to integrate neuroscience with the principles of chaos theory.
It was through this relationship with Merleau-Ponty's work that cognitive science's affair with phenomenology was born, which is represented by a growing number of works, including
Ron McClamrock's Existential Cognition: Computational Minds in the World (1995),
Andy Clark's Being There (1997),
Naturalizing Phenomenology edited by Petitot et al. (1999),
Alva Noë's Action in Perception (2004),
Shaun Gallagher's How the Body Shapes the Mind (2005),
Grammont, Franck Dorothée Legrand, and Pierre Livet (eds.) 2010, Naturalizing Intention in Action, MIT Press 2010 .
The journal Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences.
Feminist philosophy
Merleau-Ponty has also been picked up by Australian and Nordic philosophers inspired by the French feminist tradition, including Rosalyn Diprose and .
Heinämaa has argued for a rereading of Merleau-Ponty's influence on Simone de Beauvoir. (She has also challenged Dreyfus's reading of Merleau-Ponty as behaviorist, and as neglecting the importance of the phenomenological reduction to Merleau-Ponty's thought.)
Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of the body has also been taken up by Iris Young in her essay "Throwing Like a Girl," and its follow-up, "'Throwing Like a Girl': Twenty Years Later". Young analyzes the particular modalities of feminine bodily comportment as they differ from that of men. Young observes that while a man who throws a ball puts his whole body into the motion, a woman throwing a ball generally restricts her own movements as she makes them, and that, generally, in sports, women move in a more tentative, reactive way. Merleau-Ponty argues that we experience the world in terms of the "I can" – that is, oriented towards certain projects based on our capacity and habituality. Young's thesis is that in women, this intentionality is inhibited and ambivalent, rather than confident, experienced as an "I cannot".
Ecophenomenology
Ecophenomenology can be described as the pursuit of the relationalities of worldly engagement, both human and those of other creatures (Brown & Toadvine 2003).
This engagement is situated in a kind of middle ground of relationality, a space that is neither purely objective, because it is reciprocally constituted by a diversity of lived experiences motivating the movements of countless organisms, nor purely subjective, because it is nonetheless a field of material relationships between bodies. It is governed exclusively neither by causality, nor by intentionality. In this space of in-betweenness, phenomenology can overcome its inaugural opposition to naturalism.
David Abram explains Merleau-Ponty's concept of "flesh" (chair) as "the mysterious tissue or matrix that underlies and gives rise to both the perceiver and the perceived as interdependent aspects of its spontaneous activity", and he identifies this elemental matrix with the interdependent web of earthly life. This concept unites subject and object dialectically as determinations within a more primordial reality, which Merleau-Ponty calls "the flesh" and which Abram refers to variously as "the animate earth", "the breathing biosphere" or "the more-than-human natural world". Yet this is not nature or the biosphere conceived as a complex set of objects and objective processes, but rather "the biosphere as it is experienced and lived from within by the intelligent body — by the attentive human animal who is entirely a part of the world that he or she experiences. Merleau-Ponty's ecophenemonology with its emphasis on holistic dialog within the larger-than-human world also has implications for the ontogenesis and phylogenesis of language; indeed he states that "language is the very voice of the trees, the waves and the forest".
Merleau-Ponty himself refers to "that primordial being which is not yet the subject-being nor the object-being and which in every respect baffles reflection. From this primordial being to us, there is no derivation, nor any break..." Among the many working notes found on his desk at the time of his death, and published with the half-complete manuscript of The Visible and the Invisible, several make it evident that Merleau-Ponty himself recognized a deep affinity between his notion of a primordial "flesh" and a radically transformed understanding of "nature". Hence, in November 1960 he writes: "Do a psychoanalysis of Nature: it is the flesh, the mother." And in the last published working note, written in March 1961, he writes: "Nature as the other side of humanity (as flesh, nowise as 'matter')." This resonates with the conception of space, place, dwelling, and embodiment (in the flesh and physical, vs. virtual and cybernetic), especially as they are addressed against the background of the unfolding of the essence of modern technology. Such analytics figure in a Heideggerian take on “econtology” as an extension of Heidegger's consideration of the question of being (Seinsfrage) by way of the fourfold (Das Geviert) of earth-sky-mortals-divinities (Erde und Himmel, Sterblichen und Göttlichen). In this strand of “ecophenomenology”, ecology is co-entangled with ontology, whereby the worldly existential analytics are grounded in earthiness, and environmentalism is orientated by ontological thinking.
Bibliography
The following table gives a selection of Merleau-Ponty's works in French and English translation.
See also
Gestalt psychology
Process philosophy
Embodied cognition
Enactivism
Difference (philosophy)
Virtuality (philosophy)
Field (physics)
Hylomorphism
Autopoiesis
Emergence
Umwelt
Habit
Body schema
Affordance
Perspectivism
Reflexivity
Invagination (philosophy)
Incarnation
Notes
References
Abram, D. (1988). "Merleau-Ponty and the Voice of the Earth" Environmental Ethics 10, no. 2 (Summer 1988): 101–20.
Alloa, E. (2017) Resistance of the Sensible World. An Introduction to Merleau-Ponty, New York: Fordham University Press.
Alloa,E., F. Chouraqui & R. Kaushik, (2019) (eds.) Merleau-Ponty and Contemporary Philosophy, Albany: SUNY Press.
Barbaras, R. (2004) The Being of the Phenomenon. Merleau-Ponty's Ontology Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Carbone, M. (2004) The Thinking of the Sensible. Merleau-Ponty's A-Philosophy, Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Clark, A. (1997) Being There: Putting Brain, Body, and World Together Again. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dillon, M. C. (1997) Merleau-Ponty's Ontology. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Gallagher, S. (2003) How the Body Shapes the Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Guilherme, Alexandre and Morgan, W. John, 'Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961)-dialogue as being present to the other'. Chapter 6 in Philosophy, Dialogue, and Education: Nine modern European philosophers, Routledge, London and New York, pp. 89–108, .
Johnson, G., Smith, M. B. (eds.) (1993) The Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader: Philosophy and Painting, Chicago: Northwestern UP 1993.
Landes, D. (2013) Merleau-Ponty and the Paradoxes of Expression, New York-London: Bloomsbury.
Lawlor, L., Evans, F. (eds.) (2000) Chiasms: Merleau-Ponty's Notion of Flesh, Albany: SUNY Press.
Petitot, J., Varela, F., Pachoud, B. and Roy, J-M. (eds.) (1999) Naturalizing Phenomenology: Issues in Contemporary Phenomenology and Cognitive Science. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Toadvine, T. (2009) Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy of Nature. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Tilliette, X. (1970) Maurice Merleau-Ponty ou la mesure de l'homme, Seghers, 1970.
Varela, F. J., Thompson, E. and Rosch, E. (1991) The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. Cambridge: MIT Press.
External links
Maurice Merleau-Ponty at 18 from the French Government website
English Translations of Merleau-Ponty's Work
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Maurice Merleau-Ponty by Jack Reynolds
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Maurice Merleau-Ponty by Ted Toadvine
The Merleau-Ponty Circle — Association of scholars interested in the works of Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty page at Mythos & Logos
Chiasmi International — Studies Concerning the Thought of Maurice Merleau-Ponty in English, French and Italian
O’Loughlin, Marjorie, 1995, "Intelligent Bodies and Ecological Subjectivities: Merleau-Ponty’s Corrective to Postmodernism’s “Subjects” of Education."
Popen, Shari, 1995, "Merleau-Ponty Confronts Postmodernism: A Reply to O’Loughlin."
Merleau-Ponty: Reckoning with the Possibility of an 'Other.'
The Journal of French Philosophy — the online home of the Bulletin de la Société Américaine de Philosophie de Langue Française
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French magazine founders | true | [
"Language arts (also known as English language arts or ELA) is the study and improvement of the arts of language. Traditionally, the primary divisions in language arts are literature and language, where language in this case refers to both linguistics, and specific languages. Language arts instruction typically consists of a combination of reading, writing (composition), speaking, and listening. In schools, language arts is taught alongside science, mathematics, and social studies.\n\nReading\nReading, by definition, is the ability and knowledge of a language that allows comprehension by grasping the meaning of written or printed characters, words, or sentences. Reading involves a wide variety of print and non-print texts that helps a reader gain an understanding of the material that is being read. Reading of texts that are often included in educational curriculum include fiction, nonfiction, classic, and also contemporary works. Reading goes beyond calling words to understand the information presented in a written or visual context.\n\nComposition\nComposition is defined as the combination of distinct parts or elements to form a whole and the manner in which these elements are combined or related. The following are examples of composing in language arts:\n The art or act of composing a literary work (i.e. novels, speeches, poems)\n A short essay, especially one written as an academic exercise. An essay is a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative. There are many types of short essays, including:\nFive-paragraph essay\nArgumentative essay\nCause and effect essay\nComparative essay\n\nCompositions may also include:\n Narrative essays\n Expository essays\n Persuasive essays\n Technical writing essays\n Research essays\n Books\n Vignettes \n Poems\n\nSpeaking \nOration and live delivery are often key components of language arts programs. This can include dramatic interpretation, speeches, oral interpretation of poetry, and the like. Speaking is a valuable way to enhance concepts of persuasion, and develop linguistic skills.\n\nListening \nListening can be considered the basis for development of speaking, reading, and writing skills. It is the act of understanding spoken language, and is often paired with speaking.\n\nSee also\n\n Rhetoric\n The three Rs\n Trivium (education)\n\nReferences\n\nCommunication design\nEducation by subject\nHumanities education\nLiterary education\nReading (process)\nLanguage education\nRhetoric\nLearning to read\nCommunication\nLiteracy\nLanguage\nPublic speaking\nCommunication skills training\nWriting\nLife skills",
"An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta / COGG is a Republic of Ireland State-agency who serve as a consultative council to the Irish Department of Education and Skills and other organisations and individuals on Irish language-medium education and who also provide support services and teaching resources and carry out research for Irish language-medium schools both inside and outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht in the Republic of Ireland. Their name translates into English as The Council for Gaeltacht and Gaelscoileanna Education. The name is usually abbreviated as COGG for short. The Comhairle (\"Council\") was appointed for the first time in 2002 and has been reappointed on four occasions since then. They are a separate organisation to the Northern Ireland Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta.\n\nSee also\n\n Gaeltacht Irish-speaking regions in Ireland.\n List of Irish language media\n Irish language in Northern Ireland\n\nReferences\n\nIrish-language education\nIrish language organisations"
]
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[
"Maurice Merleau-Ponty",
"Art",
"Did he create art?",
"Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression.",
"What are the distinctions between them?",
"sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language",
"What is repeated?",
"distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression.",
"What are these modes of expression?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty",
"Is his art usually based on language and speaking?",
"\"Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence"
]
| C_ab5979e60f144e2d9121eb1b0a2f4bc1_0 | What is his most well-known contribution to the art world? | 7 | What is Maurice Merleau-Ponty's most well-known contribution to the art world? | Maurice Merleau-Ponty | Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression. This distinction appears in Phenomenology of Perception (p. 207, 2nd note [Fr. ed.]) and is sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language (le langage parle et le langage parlant) (The Prose of the World, p. 10). Spoken language (le langage parle), or secondary expression, returns to our linguistic baggage, to the cultural heritage that we have acquired, as well as the brute mass of relationships between signs and significations. Speaking language (le langage parlant), or primary expression, such as it is, is language in the production of a sense, language at the advent of a thought, at the moment where it makes itself an advent of sense. It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty and which keeps his attention through his treatment of the nature of production and the reception of expressions, a subject which also overlaps with an analysis of action, of intentionality, of perception, as well as the links between freedom and external conditions. The notion of style occupies an important place in "Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence". In spite of certain similarities with Andre Malraux, Merleau-Ponty distinguishes himself from Malraux in respect to three conceptions of style, the last of which is employed in Malraux's The Voices of Silence. Merleau-Ponty remarks that in this work "style" is sometimes used by Malraux in a highly subjective sense, understood as a projection of the artist's individuality. Sometimes it is used, on the contrary, in a very metaphysical sense (in Merleau-Ponty's opinion, a mystical sense), in which style is connected with a conception of an "uber-artist" expressing "the Spirit of Painting". Finally, it sometimes is reduced to simply designating a categorization of an artistic school or movement. (However, this account of Malraux's notion of style--a key element in his thinking--is open to serious question.) For Merleau-Ponty, it is these uses of the notion of style that lead Malraux to postulate a cleavage between the objectivity of Italian Renaissance painting and the subjectivity of painting in his own time, a conclusion that Merleau-Ponty disputes. According to Merleau-Ponty, it is important to consider the heart of this problematic, by recognizing that style is first of all a demand owed to the primacy of perception, which also implies taking into consideration the dimensions of historicity and intersubjectivity. (However, Merleau-Ponty's reading of Malraux has been questioned in a recent major study of Malraux's theory of art which argues that Merleau-Ponty seriously misunderstood Malraux.) For Merleau-Ponty, style is born of the interaction between two or more fields of being. Rather than being exclusive to individual human consciousness, consciousness is born of the pre-conscious style of the world, of Nature. CANNOTANSWER | Malraux to postulate a cleavage between the objectivity of Italian Renaissance painting | Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty (; 14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interest and he wrote on perception, art, politics, religion, biology, psychology, psychoanalysis, language, nature, and history. He was the lead editor of Les Temps modernes, the leftist magazine he established with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in 1945.
At the core of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy is a sustained argument for the foundational role perception plays in our experience of the world. Merleau-Ponty understands perception to be an ongoing dialogue between one's lived body and the world which it perceives, in which perceivers passively and actively strive to express the perceived world in concert with others. He was the only major phenomenologist of the first half of the twentieth century to engage extensively with the sciences and especially with Gestalt psychology. It is through this engagement that his writings became influential in the project of naturalizing phenomenology, in which phenomenologists use the results of psychology and cognitive science.
Merleau-Ponty emphasized the body as the primary site of knowing the world, a corrective to the long philosophical tradition of placing consciousness as the source of knowledge, and maintained that the body and that which it perceived could not be disentangled from each other. The articulation of the primacy of embodiment (corporéité) led him away from phenomenology towards what he was to call “indirect ontology” or the ontology of “the flesh of the world” (la chair du monde), seen in his final and incomplete work, The Visible and Invisible, and his last published essay, “Eye and Mind”.
Merleau-Ponty engaged with Marxism throughout his career. His 1947 book, Humanism and Terror, has been widely (mis)understood as a defence of the Soviet show trials. In fact, this text avoids the definitive endorsement of a view on the Soviet Union, but instead engages with the Marxist theory of history as a critique of liberalism, in order to reveal an unresolved antinomy in modern politics, between humanism and terror: if human values can only be achieved through violent force, and if liberal ideas hide illiberal realities, how is just political action to be decided? Merleau-Ponty maintained an engaged though critical relationship to the Marxist left until the end of his life, particularly during his time as the political editor of the journal Les Temps Modernes.
Life
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was born in 1908 in Rochefort-sur-Mer, Charente-Inférieure (now Charente-Maritime), France. His father died in 1913 when Merleau-Ponty was five years old. After secondary schooling at the lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, Merleau-Ponty became a student at the École Normale Supérieure, where he studied alongside Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Simone Weil, Jean Hyppolite, and Jean Wahl. As Beauvoir recounts in her autobiography, she developed a close friendship with Merleau-Ponty and became smitten with him, but ultimately found him too well-adjusted to bourgeois life and values for her taste. He attended Edmund Husserl's "Paris Lectures" in February 1929. In 1929, Merleau-Ponty received his DES degree (, roughly equivalent to an MA thesis) from the University of Paris, on the basis of the (now-lost) thesis La Notion de multiple intelligible chez Plotin ("Plotinus's Notion of the Intelligible Many"), directed by Émile Bréhier. He passed the agrégation in philosophy in 1930.
Merleau-Ponty was raised as a Catholic. He was friends with the Christian existentialist Gabriel Marcel, and he wrote articles for the Christian leftist journal Esprit, but he left the Church in 1937 because he felt his socialist politics were not compatible with the social and political teaching of the Catholic Church.
An article published in French newspaper Le Monde in October 2014 makes the case of recent discoveries about Merleau-Ponty's likely authorship of the novel Nord. Récit de l'arctique (Grasset, 1928). Convergent sources from close friends (Beauvoir, Elisabeth "Zaza" Lacoin) seem to leave little doubt that Jacques Heller was a pseudonym of the 20-year-old Merleau-Ponty.
Merleau-Ponty taught first at the Lycée de Beauvais (1931–33) and then got a fellowship to do research from the . From 1934 to 1935 he taught at the Lycée de Chartres. He then in 1935 became a tutor at the École Normale Supérieure, where he tutored a young Michel Foucault and Trần Đức Thảo and was awarded his doctorate on the basis of two important books: La structure du comportement (1942) and Phénoménologie de la Perception (1945). During this time, he attended Alexandre Kojeve's influential seminars on Hegel and Aron Gurwitsch's lectures on Gestalt psychology.
In the spring of 1939, he was the first foreign visitor to the newly established Husserl Archives, where he consulted Husserl's unpublished manuscripts and met Eugen Fink and Father Hermann Van Breda. In the summer of 1939, as France entered war against Germany, he served on the frontlines in the French army, where he was wounded in battle in June 1940. Upon returning to Paris in the fall of 1940, he married Suzanne Jolibois, a Lacanian psychoanalyst, and founded an underground resistance group with Jean-Paul Sartre called "Under the Boot". He participated in an armed demonstration against the Nazis during the Liberation of Paris.
After teaching at the University of Lyon from 1945 to 1948, Merleau-Ponty lectured on child psychology and education at the Sorbonne from 1949 to 1952.
He was awarded the Chair of Philosophy at the Collège de France from 1952 until his death in 1961, making him the youngest person to have been elected to a chair.
Besides his teaching, Merleau-Ponty was also political editor for the leftist Les Temps modernes from the founding of the journal in October 1945 until December 1952. In his youth he had read Karl Marx's writings and Sartre even claimed that Merleau-Ponty converted him to Marxism. While he was not a member of the French Communist Party and did not identify as a Communist, he laid out an argument justifying the Soviet show trials and violence for progressive ends in general in the work Humanism and Terror in 1947. However, about three years later, he renounced his earlier support for political violence, and he rejected Marxism and advocated a liberal left position in Adventures of the Dialectic (1955). His friendship with Sartre and work with Les Temps modernes ended because of that, since Sartre still had a more favourable attitude towards Soviet communism. Merleau-Ponty was subsequently active in the French non-communist left and in particular in the Union of the Democratic Forces.
Merleau-Ponty died suddenly of a stroke in 1961 at age 53, apparently while preparing for a class on René Descartes, leaving an unfinished manuscript which was posthumously published in 1964, along with a selection of Merleau-Ponty's working notes, by Claude Lefort as The Visible and the Invisible. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris with his mother Louise, his wife Suzanne and their daughter Marianne.
Thought
Consciousness
In his Phenomenology of Perception (first published in French in 1945), Merleau-Ponty develops the concept of the body-subject (le corps propre) as an alternative to the Cartesian "cogito". This distinction is especially important in that Merleau-Ponty perceives the essences of the world existentially. Consciousness, the world, and the human body as a perceiving thing are intricately intertwined and mutually "engaged". The phenomenal thing is not the unchanging object of the natural sciences, but a correlate of our body and its sensory-motor functions. Taking up and "communing with" (Merleau-Ponty's phrase) the sensible qualities it encounters, the body as incarnated subjectivity intentionally elaborates things within an ever-present world frame, through use of its pre-conscious, pre-predicative understanding of the world's makeup. The elaboration, however, is "inexhaustible" (the hallmark of any perception according to Merleau-Ponty). Things are that upon which our body has a "grip" (prise), while the grip itself is a function of our connaturality with the world's things. The world and the sense of self are emergent phenomena in an ongoing "becoming".
The essential partiality of our view of things, their being given only in a certain perspective and at a certain moment in time does not diminish their reality, but on the contrary establishes it, as there is no other way for things to be copresent with us and with other things than through such "Abschattungen" (sketches, faint outlines, adumbrations). The thing transcends our view, but is manifest precisely by presenting itself to a range of possible views. The object of perception is immanently tied to its background—to the nexus of meaningful relations among objects within the world. Because the object is inextricably within the world of meaningful relations, each object reflects the other (much in the style of Leibniz's monads). Through involvement in the world – being-in-the-world – the perceiver tacitly experiences all the perspectives upon that object coming from all the surrounding things of its environment, as well as the potential perspectives that that object has upon the beings around it.
Each object is a "mirror of all others". Our perception of the object through all perspectives is not that of a propositional, or clearly delineated, perception; rather, it is an ambiguous perception founded upon the body's primordial involvement and understanding of the world and of the meanings that constitute the landscape's perceptual Gestalt. Only after we have been integrated within the environment so as to perceive objects as such can we turn our attention toward particular objects within the landscape so as to define them more clearly. This attention, however, does not operate by clarifying what is already seen, but by constructing a new Gestalt oriented toward a particular object. Because our bodily involvement with things is always provisional and indeterminate, we encounter meaningful things in a unified though ever open-ended world.
The primacy of perception
From the time of writing Structure of Behavior and Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty wanted to show, in opposition to the idea that drove the tradition beginning with John Locke, that perception was not the causal product of atomic sensations. This atomist-causal conception was being perpetuated in certain psychological currents of the time, particularly in behaviourism. According to Merleau-Ponty, perception has an active dimension, in that it is a primordial openness to the lifeworld (the "Lebenswelt").
This primordial openness is at the heart of his thesis of the primacy of perception. The slogan of Husserl's phenomenology is "all consciousness is consciousness of something", which implies a distinction between "acts of thought" (the noesis) and "intentional objects of thought" (the noema). Thus, the correlation between noesis and noema becomes the first step in the constitution of analyses of consciousness. However, in studying the posthumous manuscripts of Husserl, who remained one of his major influences, Merleau-Ponty remarked that, in their evolution, Husserl's work brings to light phenomena which are not assimilable to noesis–noema correlation. This is particularly the case when one attends to the phenomena of the body (which is at once body-subject and body-object), subjective time (the consciousness of time is neither an act of consciousness nor an object of thought) and the other (the first considerations of the other in Husserl led to solipsism).
The distinction between "acts of thought" (noesis) and "intentional objects of thought" (noema) does not seem, therefore, to constitute an irreducible ground. It appears rather at a higher level of analysis. Thus, Merleau-Ponty does not postulate that "all consciousness is consciousness of something", which supposes at the outset a noetic-noematic ground. Instead, he develops the thesis according to which "all consciousness is perceptual consciousness". In doing so, he establishes a significant turn in the development of phenomenology, indicating that its conceptualisations should be re-examined in the light of the primacy of perception, in weighing up the philosophical consequences of this thesis.
Corporeity
Taking the study of perception as his point of departure, Merleau-Ponty was led to recognize that one's own body (le corps propre) is not only a thing, a potential object of study for science, but is also a permanent condition of experience, a constituent of the perceptual openness to the world. He therefore underlines the fact that there is an inherence of consciousness and of the body of which the analysis of perception should take account. The primacy of perception signifies a primacy of experience, so to speak, insofar as perception becomes an active and constitutive dimension.
Merleau-Ponty demonstrates a corporeity of consciousness as much as an intentionality of the body, and so stands in contrast with the dualist ontology of mind and body in Descartes, a philosopher to whom Merleau-Ponty continually returned, despite the important differences that separate them. In the Phenomenology of Perception Merleau-Ponty wrote: “Insofar as I have hands, feet, a body, I sustain around me intentions which are not dependent on my decisions and which affect my surroundings in a way that I do not choose” (1962, p. 440).
Spatiality
The question concerning corporeity connects also with Merleau-Ponty's reflections on space (l'espace) and the primacy of the dimension of depth (la profondeur) as implied in the notion of being in the world (être au monde; to echo Heidegger's In-der-Welt-sein) and of one's own body (le corps propre). Reflections on spatiality in phenomenology are also central to the advanced philosophical deliberations in architectural theory.
Language
The highlighting of the fact that corporeity intrinsically has a dimension of expressivity which proves to be fundamental to the constitution of the ego is one of the conclusions of The Structure of Behavior that is constantly reiterated in Merleau-Ponty's later works. Following this theme of expressivity, he goes on to examine how an incarnate subject is in a position to undertake actions that transcend the organic level of the body, such as in intellectual operations and the products of one's cultural life.
He carefully considers language, then, as the core of culture, by examining in particular the connections between the unfolding of thought and sense—enriching his perspective not only by an analysis of the acquisition of language and the expressivity of the body, but also by taking into account pathologies of language, painting, cinema, literature, poetry and song.
This work deals mainly with language, beginning with the reflection on artistic expression in The Structure of Behavior—which contains a passage on El Greco (p. 203ff) that prefigures the remarks that he develops in "Cézanne's Doubt" (1945) and follows the discussion in Phenomenology of Perception. The work, undertaken while serving as the Chair of Child Psychology and Pedagogy at the University of the Sorbonne, is not a departure from his philosophical and phenomenological works, but rather an important continuation in the development of his thought.
As the course outlines of his Sorbonne lectures indicate, during this period he continues a dialogue between phenomenology and the diverse work carried out in psychology, all in order to return to the study of the acquisition of language in children, as well as to broadly take advantage of the contribution of Ferdinand de Saussure to linguistics, and to work on the notion of structure through a discussion of work in psychology, linguistics and social anthropology.
Art
Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression. This distinction appears in Phenomenology of Perception (p. 207, 2nd note [Fr. ed.]) and is sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language () (The Prose of the World, p. 10). Spoken language (), or secondary expression, returns to our linguistic baggage, to the cultural heritage that we have acquired, as well as the brute mass of relationships between signs and significations. Speaking language (), or primary expression, such as it is, is language in the production of a sense, language at the advent of a thought, at the moment where it makes itself an advent of sense.
It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty and which keeps his attention through his treatment of the nature of production and the reception of expressions, a subject which also overlaps with an analysis of action, of intentionality, of perception, as well as the links between freedom and external conditions.
The notion of style occupies an important place in "Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence". In spite of certain similarities with André Malraux, Merleau-Ponty distinguishes himself from Malraux in respect to three conceptions of style, the last of which is employed in Malraux's The Voices of Silence. Merleau-Ponty remarks that in this work "style" is sometimes used by Malraux in a highly subjective sense, understood as a projection of the artist's individuality. Sometimes it is used, on the contrary, in a very metaphysical sense (in Merleau-Ponty's opinion, a mystical sense), in which style is connected with a conception of an "über-artist" expressing "the Spirit of Painting". Finally, it sometimes is reduced to simply designating a categorization of an artistic school or movement. (However, this account of Malraux's notion of style—a key element in his thinking—is open to serious question.)
For Merleau-Ponty, it is these uses of the notion of style that lead Malraux to postulate a cleavage between the objectivity of Italian Renaissance painting and the subjectivity of painting in his own time, a conclusion that Merleau-Ponty disputes. According to Merleau-Ponty, it is important to consider the heart of this problematic, by recognizing that style is first of all a demand owed to the primacy of perception, which also implies taking into consideration the dimensions of historicity and intersubjectivity. (However, Merleau-Ponty's reading of Malraux has been questioned in a recent major study of Malraux's theory of art which argues that Merleau-Ponty seriously misunderstood Malraux.) For Merleau-Ponty, style is born of the interaction between two or more fields of being. Rather than being exclusive to individual human consciousness, consciousness is born of the pre-conscious style of the world, of Nature.
Science
In his essay "Cézanne's Doubt", in which he identifies Paul Cézanne's impressionistic theory of painting as analogous to his own concept of radical reflection, the attempt to return to, and reflect on, prereflective consciousness, Merleau-Ponty identifies science as the opposite of art. In Merleau-Ponty's account, whereas art is an attempt to capture an individual's perception, science is anti-individualistic. In the preface to his Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty presents a phenomenological objection to positivism: that it can tell us nothing about human subjectivity. All that a scientific text can explain is the particular individual experience of that scientist, which cannot be transcended. For Merleau-Ponty, science neglects the depth and profundity of the phenomena that it endeavors to explain.
Merleau-Ponty understood science to be an ex post facto abstraction. Causal and physiological accounts of perception, for example, explain perception in terms that are arrived at only after abstracting from the phenomenon itself. Merleau-Ponty chastised science for taking itself to be the area in which a complete account of nature may be given. The subjective depth of phenomena cannot be given in science as it is. This characterizes Merleau-Ponty's attempt to ground science in phenomenological objectivity and, in essence, to institute a "return to the phenomena".
Influence
Anticognitivist cognitive science
Merleau-Ponty's critical position with respect to science was stated in his Preface to the Phenomenology: he described scientific points of view as "always both naive and at the same time dishonest". Despite, or perhaps because of, this view, his work influenced and anticipated the strands of modern psychology known as post-cognitivism. Hubert Dreyfus has been instrumental in emphasising the relevance of Merleau-Ponty's work to current post-cognitive research, and its criticism of the traditional view of cognitive science.
Dreyfus's seminal critique of cognitivism (or the computational account of the mind), What Computers Can't Do, consciously replays Merleau-Ponty's critique of intellectualist psychology to argue for the irreducibility of corporeal know-how to discrete, syntactic processes. Through the influence of Dreyfus's critique and neurophysiological alternative, Merleau-Ponty became associated with neurophysiological, connectionist accounts of cognition.
With the publication in 1991 of The Embodied Mind by Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch, this association was extended, if only partially, to another strand of "anti-cognitivist" or post-representationalist cognitive science: embodied or enactive cognitive science, and later in the decade, to neurophenomenology. In addition, Merleau-Ponty's work has also influenced researchers trying to integrate neuroscience with the principles of chaos theory.
It was through this relationship with Merleau-Ponty's work that cognitive science's affair with phenomenology was born, which is represented by a growing number of works, including
Ron McClamrock's Existential Cognition: Computational Minds in the World (1995),
Andy Clark's Being There (1997),
Naturalizing Phenomenology edited by Petitot et al. (1999),
Alva Noë's Action in Perception (2004),
Shaun Gallagher's How the Body Shapes the Mind (2005),
Grammont, Franck Dorothée Legrand, and Pierre Livet (eds.) 2010, Naturalizing Intention in Action, MIT Press 2010 .
The journal Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences.
Feminist philosophy
Merleau-Ponty has also been picked up by Australian and Nordic philosophers inspired by the French feminist tradition, including Rosalyn Diprose and .
Heinämaa has argued for a rereading of Merleau-Ponty's influence on Simone de Beauvoir. (She has also challenged Dreyfus's reading of Merleau-Ponty as behaviorist, and as neglecting the importance of the phenomenological reduction to Merleau-Ponty's thought.)
Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of the body has also been taken up by Iris Young in her essay "Throwing Like a Girl," and its follow-up, "'Throwing Like a Girl': Twenty Years Later". Young analyzes the particular modalities of feminine bodily comportment as they differ from that of men. Young observes that while a man who throws a ball puts his whole body into the motion, a woman throwing a ball generally restricts her own movements as she makes them, and that, generally, in sports, women move in a more tentative, reactive way. Merleau-Ponty argues that we experience the world in terms of the "I can" – that is, oriented towards certain projects based on our capacity and habituality. Young's thesis is that in women, this intentionality is inhibited and ambivalent, rather than confident, experienced as an "I cannot".
Ecophenomenology
Ecophenomenology can be described as the pursuit of the relationalities of worldly engagement, both human and those of other creatures (Brown & Toadvine 2003).
This engagement is situated in a kind of middle ground of relationality, a space that is neither purely objective, because it is reciprocally constituted by a diversity of lived experiences motivating the movements of countless organisms, nor purely subjective, because it is nonetheless a field of material relationships between bodies. It is governed exclusively neither by causality, nor by intentionality. In this space of in-betweenness, phenomenology can overcome its inaugural opposition to naturalism.
David Abram explains Merleau-Ponty's concept of "flesh" (chair) as "the mysterious tissue or matrix that underlies and gives rise to both the perceiver and the perceived as interdependent aspects of its spontaneous activity", and he identifies this elemental matrix with the interdependent web of earthly life. This concept unites subject and object dialectically as determinations within a more primordial reality, which Merleau-Ponty calls "the flesh" and which Abram refers to variously as "the animate earth", "the breathing biosphere" or "the more-than-human natural world". Yet this is not nature or the biosphere conceived as a complex set of objects and objective processes, but rather "the biosphere as it is experienced and lived from within by the intelligent body — by the attentive human animal who is entirely a part of the world that he or she experiences. Merleau-Ponty's ecophenemonology with its emphasis on holistic dialog within the larger-than-human world also has implications for the ontogenesis and phylogenesis of language; indeed he states that "language is the very voice of the trees, the waves and the forest".
Merleau-Ponty himself refers to "that primordial being which is not yet the subject-being nor the object-being and which in every respect baffles reflection. From this primordial being to us, there is no derivation, nor any break..." Among the many working notes found on his desk at the time of his death, and published with the half-complete manuscript of The Visible and the Invisible, several make it evident that Merleau-Ponty himself recognized a deep affinity between his notion of a primordial "flesh" and a radically transformed understanding of "nature". Hence, in November 1960 he writes: "Do a psychoanalysis of Nature: it is the flesh, the mother." And in the last published working note, written in March 1961, he writes: "Nature as the other side of humanity (as flesh, nowise as 'matter')." This resonates with the conception of space, place, dwelling, and embodiment (in the flesh and physical, vs. virtual and cybernetic), especially as they are addressed against the background of the unfolding of the essence of modern technology. Such analytics figure in a Heideggerian take on “econtology” as an extension of Heidegger's consideration of the question of being (Seinsfrage) by way of the fourfold (Das Geviert) of earth-sky-mortals-divinities (Erde und Himmel, Sterblichen und Göttlichen). In this strand of “ecophenomenology”, ecology is co-entangled with ontology, whereby the worldly existential analytics are grounded in earthiness, and environmentalism is orientated by ontological thinking.
Bibliography
The following table gives a selection of Merleau-Ponty's works in French and English translation.
See also
Gestalt psychology
Process philosophy
Embodied cognition
Enactivism
Difference (philosophy)
Virtuality (philosophy)
Field (physics)
Hylomorphism
Autopoiesis
Emergence
Umwelt
Habit
Body schema
Affordance
Perspectivism
Reflexivity
Invagination (philosophy)
Incarnation
Notes
References
Abram, D. (1988). "Merleau-Ponty and the Voice of the Earth" Environmental Ethics 10, no. 2 (Summer 1988): 101–20.
Alloa, E. (2017) Resistance of the Sensible World. An Introduction to Merleau-Ponty, New York: Fordham University Press.
Alloa,E., F. Chouraqui & R. Kaushik, (2019) (eds.) Merleau-Ponty and Contemporary Philosophy, Albany: SUNY Press.
Barbaras, R. (2004) The Being of the Phenomenon. Merleau-Ponty's Ontology Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Carbone, M. (2004) The Thinking of the Sensible. Merleau-Ponty's A-Philosophy, Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Clark, A. (1997) Being There: Putting Brain, Body, and World Together Again. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dillon, M. C. (1997) Merleau-Ponty's Ontology. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Gallagher, S. (2003) How the Body Shapes the Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Guilherme, Alexandre and Morgan, W. John, 'Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961)-dialogue as being present to the other'. Chapter 6 in Philosophy, Dialogue, and Education: Nine modern European philosophers, Routledge, London and New York, pp. 89–108, .
Johnson, G., Smith, M. B. (eds.) (1993) The Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader: Philosophy and Painting, Chicago: Northwestern UP 1993.
Landes, D. (2013) Merleau-Ponty and the Paradoxes of Expression, New York-London: Bloomsbury.
Lawlor, L., Evans, F. (eds.) (2000) Chiasms: Merleau-Ponty's Notion of Flesh, Albany: SUNY Press.
Petitot, J., Varela, F., Pachoud, B. and Roy, J-M. (eds.) (1999) Naturalizing Phenomenology: Issues in Contemporary Phenomenology and Cognitive Science. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Toadvine, T. (2009) Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy of Nature. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Tilliette, X. (1970) Maurice Merleau-Ponty ou la mesure de l'homme, Seghers, 1970.
Varela, F. J., Thompson, E. and Rosch, E. (1991) The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. Cambridge: MIT Press.
External links
Maurice Merleau-Ponty at 18 from the French Government website
English Translations of Merleau-Ponty's Work
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Maurice Merleau-Ponty by Jack Reynolds
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Maurice Merleau-Ponty by Ted Toadvine
The Merleau-Ponty Circle — Association of scholars interested in the works of Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty page at Mythos & Logos
Chiasmi International — Studies Concerning the Thought of Maurice Merleau-Ponty in English, French and Italian
O’Loughlin, Marjorie, 1995, "Intelligent Bodies and Ecological Subjectivities: Merleau-Ponty’s Corrective to Postmodernism’s “Subjects” of Education."
Popen, Shari, 1995, "Merleau-Ponty Confronts Postmodernism: A Reply to O’Loughlin."
Merleau-Ponty: Reckoning with the Possibility of an 'Other.'
The Journal of French Philosophy — the online home of the Bulletin de la Société Américaine de Philosophie de Langue Française
Online Merleau-Ponty Bibliography at PhilPapers.org
1908 births
1961 deaths
20th-century French non-fiction writers
20th-century French philosophers
Action theorists
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
Collège de France faculty
Consciousness researchers and theorists
Continental philosophers
Cultural critics
École Normale Supérieure alumni
Ecophenomenologists
Enactive cognition
Environmental philosophers
Epistemologists
Existentialists
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French male writers
Lycée Carnot teachers
Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni
Marxist theorists
Moral philosophers
Ontologists
People from Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
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Philosophers of art
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University of Lyon faculty
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French magazine founders | true | [
"Ciaran Patrick Lennon (born 1947) is a Dublin-based Irish artist known for his minimalist large scale paintings. \n\nHe was chosen to represent Ireland at the 1993 São Paulo Biennial in Brazil. In the same year, Lennon was elected to Aosdána (an Irish State honour conferred on artists whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the creative arts in Ireland).\n\nHe has been described as ‘one of the most important Irish painters currently working in the field of non-objective art’. Some of his most well-known work is ‘Porous Plane’, which originated from his Folded/Unfolded Paintings of 1969–1972.\n\nCollections\nIrish Museum of Modern Art\nNational Gallery of Ireland\nContemporary Irish Art Society \nThe Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery \nTrinity College, Dublin\nKamarsky collection in New York\nFogg Museum, Boston\nArken Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen.\n\nReferences \n\n1947 births\nLiving people\n20th-century Irish painters\n21st-century Irish painters\nArtists from Dublin (city)",
"The award for Major Contribution to the Art of Film Music and Sound is a very special award that has been handed out only once since the Awards' 2001 debut. It is still considered an official category by the World Soundtrack Academy, so more awards could be handed out in the future. The award is to commemorate work that has changed film music into what we see now.\n\nWinners\n\n2004 Purple Rain - To Prince & The Revolution (Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Bobby Z., Matt Fink & Brownmark) in honor of the twentieth anniversary of their legendary movie Purple Rain.\n\nReferences\nWorld Soundtrack Awards at IMDb\n\nWorld Soundtrack Awards"
]
|
[
"Maurice Merleau-Ponty",
"Art",
"Did he create art?",
"Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression.",
"What are the distinctions between them?",
"sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language",
"What is repeated?",
"distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression.",
"What are these modes of expression?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty",
"Is his art usually based on language and speaking?",
"\"Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence",
"What is his most well-known contribution to the art world?",
"Malraux to postulate a cleavage between the objectivity of Italian Renaissance painting"
]
| C_ab5979e60f144e2d9121eb1b0a2f4bc1_0 | Who influenced his views the most? | 8 | Who influenced Maurice Merleau-Ponty's views the most? | Maurice Merleau-Ponty | Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression. This distinction appears in Phenomenology of Perception (p. 207, 2nd note [Fr. ed.]) and is sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language (le langage parle et le langage parlant) (The Prose of the World, p. 10). Spoken language (le langage parle), or secondary expression, returns to our linguistic baggage, to the cultural heritage that we have acquired, as well as the brute mass of relationships between signs and significations. Speaking language (le langage parlant), or primary expression, such as it is, is language in the production of a sense, language at the advent of a thought, at the moment where it makes itself an advent of sense. It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty and which keeps his attention through his treatment of the nature of production and the reception of expressions, a subject which also overlaps with an analysis of action, of intentionality, of perception, as well as the links between freedom and external conditions. The notion of style occupies an important place in "Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence". In spite of certain similarities with Andre Malraux, Merleau-Ponty distinguishes himself from Malraux in respect to three conceptions of style, the last of which is employed in Malraux's The Voices of Silence. Merleau-Ponty remarks that in this work "style" is sometimes used by Malraux in a highly subjective sense, understood as a projection of the artist's individuality. Sometimes it is used, on the contrary, in a very metaphysical sense (in Merleau-Ponty's opinion, a mystical sense), in which style is connected with a conception of an "uber-artist" expressing "the Spirit of Painting". Finally, it sometimes is reduced to simply designating a categorization of an artistic school or movement. (However, this account of Malraux's notion of style--a key element in his thinking--is open to serious question.) For Merleau-Ponty, it is these uses of the notion of style that lead Malraux to postulate a cleavage between the objectivity of Italian Renaissance painting and the subjectivity of painting in his own time, a conclusion that Merleau-Ponty disputes. According to Merleau-Ponty, it is important to consider the heart of this problematic, by recognizing that style is first of all a demand owed to the primacy of perception, which also implies taking into consideration the dimensions of historicity and intersubjectivity. (However, Merleau-Ponty's reading of Malraux has been questioned in a recent major study of Malraux's theory of art which argues that Merleau-Ponty seriously misunderstood Malraux.) For Merleau-Ponty, style is born of the interaction between two or more fields of being. Rather than being exclusive to individual human consciousness, consciousness is born of the pre-conscious style of the world, of Nature. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty (; 14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interest and he wrote on perception, art, politics, religion, biology, psychology, psychoanalysis, language, nature, and history. He was the lead editor of Les Temps modernes, the leftist magazine he established with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in 1945.
At the core of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy is a sustained argument for the foundational role perception plays in our experience of the world. Merleau-Ponty understands perception to be an ongoing dialogue between one's lived body and the world which it perceives, in which perceivers passively and actively strive to express the perceived world in concert with others. He was the only major phenomenologist of the first half of the twentieth century to engage extensively with the sciences and especially with Gestalt psychology. It is through this engagement that his writings became influential in the project of naturalizing phenomenology, in which phenomenologists use the results of psychology and cognitive science.
Merleau-Ponty emphasized the body as the primary site of knowing the world, a corrective to the long philosophical tradition of placing consciousness as the source of knowledge, and maintained that the body and that which it perceived could not be disentangled from each other. The articulation of the primacy of embodiment (corporéité) led him away from phenomenology towards what he was to call “indirect ontology” or the ontology of “the flesh of the world” (la chair du monde), seen in his final and incomplete work, The Visible and Invisible, and his last published essay, “Eye and Mind”.
Merleau-Ponty engaged with Marxism throughout his career. His 1947 book, Humanism and Terror, has been widely (mis)understood as a defence of the Soviet show trials. In fact, this text avoids the definitive endorsement of a view on the Soviet Union, but instead engages with the Marxist theory of history as a critique of liberalism, in order to reveal an unresolved antinomy in modern politics, between humanism and terror: if human values can only be achieved through violent force, and if liberal ideas hide illiberal realities, how is just political action to be decided? Merleau-Ponty maintained an engaged though critical relationship to the Marxist left until the end of his life, particularly during his time as the political editor of the journal Les Temps Modernes.
Life
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was born in 1908 in Rochefort-sur-Mer, Charente-Inférieure (now Charente-Maritime), France. His father died in 1913 when Merleau-Ponty was five years old. After secondary schooling at the lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, Merleau-Ponty became a student at the École Normale Supérieure, where he studied alongside Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Simone Weil, Jean Hyppolite, and Jean Wahl. As Beauvoir recounts in her autobiography, she developed a close friendship with Merleau-Ponty and became smitten with him, but ultimately found him too well-adjusted to bourgeois life and values for her taste. He attended Edmund Husserl's "Paris Lectures" in February 1929. In 1929, Merleau-Ponty received his DES degree (, roughly equivalent to an MA thesis) from the University of Paris, on the basis of the (now-lost) thesis La Notion de multiple intelligible chez Plotin ("Plotinus's Notion of the Intelligible Many"), directed by Émile Bréhier. He passed the agrégation in philosophy in 1930.
Merleau-Ponty was raised as a Catholic. He was friends with the Christian existentialist Gabriel Marcel, and he wrote articles for the Christian leftist journal Esprit, but he left the Church in 1937 because he felt his socialist politics were not compatible with the social and political teaching of the Catholic Church.
An article published in French newspaper Le Monde in October 2014 makes the case of recent discoveries about Merleau-Ponty's likely authorship of the novel Nord. Récit de l'arctique (Grasset, 1928). Convergent sources from close friends (Beauvoir, Elisabeth "Zaza" Lacoin) seem to leave little doubt that Jacques Heller was a pseudonym of the 20-year-old Merleau-Ponty.
Merleau-Ponty taught first at the Lycée de Beauvais (1931–33) and then got a fellowship to do research from the . From 1934 to 1935 he taught at the Lycée de Chartres. He then in 1935 became a tutor at the École Normale Supérieure, where he tutored a young Michel Foucault and Trần Đức Thảo and was awarded his doctorate on the basis of two important books: La structure du comportement (1942) and Phénoménologie de la Perception (1945). During this time, he attended Alexandre Kojeve's influential seminars on Hegel and Aron Gurwitsch's lectures on Gestalt psychology.
In the spring of 1939, he was the first foreign visitor to the newly established Husserl Archives, where he consulted Husserl's unpublished manuscripts and met Eugen Fink and Father Hermann Van Breda. In the summer of 1939, as France entered war against Germany, he served on the frontlines in the French army, where he was wounded in battle in June 1940. Upon returning to Paris in the fall of 1940, he married Suzanne Jolibois, a Lacanian psychoanalyst, and founded an underground resistance group with Jean-Paul Sartre called "Under the Boot". He participated in an armed demonstration against the Nazis during the Liberation of Paris.
After teaching at the University of Lyon from 1945 to 1948, Merleau-Ponty lectured on child psychology and education at the Sorbonne from 1949 to 1952.
He was awarded the Chair of Philosophy at the Collège de France from 1952 until his death in 1961, making him the youngest person to have been elected to a chair.
Besides his teaching, Merleau-Ponty was also political editor for the leftist Les Temps modernes from the founding of the journal in October 1945 until December 1952. In his youth he had read Karl Marx's writings and Sartre even claimed that Merleau-Ponty converted him to Marxism. While he was not a member of the French Communist Party and did not identify as a Communist, he laid out an argument justifying the Soviet show trials and violence for progressive ends in general in the work Humanism and Terror in 1947. However, about three years later, he renounced his earlier support for political violence, and he rejected Marxism and advocated a liberal left position in Adventures of the Dialectic (1955). His friendship with Sartre and work with Les Temps modernes ended because of that, since Sartre still had a more favourable attitude towards Soviet communism. Merleau-Ponty was subsequently active in the French non-communist left and in particular in the Union of the Democratic Forces.
Merleau-Ponty died suddenly of a stroke in 1961 at age 53, apparently while preparing for a class on René Descartes, leaving an unfinished manuscript which was posthumously published in 1964, along with a selection of Merleau-Ponty's working notes, by Claude Lefort as The Visible and the Invisible. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris with his mother Louise, his wife Suzanne and their daughter Marianne.
Thought
Consciousness
In his Phenomenology of Perception (first published in French in 1945), Merleau-Ponty develops the concept of the body-subject (le corps propre) as an alternative to the Cartesian "cogito". This distinction is especially important in that Merleau-Ponty perceives the essences of the world existentially. Consciousness, the world, and the human body as a perceiving thing are intricately intertwined and mutually "engaged". The phenomenal thing is not the unchanging object of the natural sciences, but a correlate of our body and its sensory-motor functions. Taking up and "communing with" (Merleau-Ponty's phrase) the sensible qualities it encounters, the body as incarnated subjectivity intentionally elaborates things within an ever-present world frame, through use of its pre-conscious, pre-predicative understanding of the world's makeup. The elaboration, however, is "inexhaustible" (the hallmark of any perception according to Merleau-Ponty). Things are that upon which our body has a "grip" (prise), while the grip itself is a function of our connaturality with the world's things. The world and the sense of self are emergent phenomena in an ongoing "becoming".
The essential partiality of our view of things, their being given only in a certain perspective and at a certain moment in time does not diminish their reality, but on the contrary establishes it, as there is no other way for things to be copresent with us and with other things than through such "Abschattungen" (sketches, faint outlines, adumbrations). The thing transcends our view, but is manifest precisely by presenting itself to a range of possible views. The object of perception is immanently tied to its background—to the nexus of meaningful relations among objects within the world. Because the object is inextricably within the world of meaningful relations, each object reflects the other (much in the style of Leibniz's monads). Through involvement in the world – being-in-the-world – the perceiver tacitly experiences all the perspectives upon that object coming from all the surrounding things of its environment, as well as the potential perspectives that that object has upon the beings around it.
Each object is a "mirror of all others". Our perception of the object through all perspectives is not that of a propositional, or clearly delineated, perception; rather, it is an ambiguous perception founded upon the body's primordial involvement and understanding of the world and of the meanings that constitute the landscape's perceptual Gestalt. Only after we have been integrated within the environment so as to perceive objects as such can we turn our attention toward particular objects within the landscape so as to define them more clearly. This attention, however, does not operate by clarifying what is already seen, but by constructing a new Gestalt oriented toward a particular object. Because our bodily involvement with things is always provisional and indeterminate, we encounter meaningful things in a unified though ever open-ended world.
The primacy of perception
From the time of writing Structure of Behavior and Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty wanted to show, in opposition to the idea that drove the tradition beginning with John Locke, that perception was not the causal product of atomic sensations. This atomist-causal conception was being perpetuated in certain psychological currents of the time, particularly in behaviourism. According to Merleau-Ponty, perception has an active dimension, in that it is a primordial openness to the lifeworld (the "Lebenswelt").
This primordial openness is at the heart of his thesis of the primacy of perception. The slogan of Husserl's phenomenology is "all consciousness is consciousness of something", which implies a distinction between "acts of thought" (the noesis) and "intentional objects of thought" (the noema). Thus, the correlation between noesis and noema becomes the first step in the constitution of analyses of consciousness. However, in studying the posthumous manuscripts of Husserl, who remained one of his major influences, Merleau-Ponty remarked that, in their evolution, Husserl's work brings to light phenomena which are not assimilable to noesis–noema correlation. This is particularly the case when one attends to the phenomena of the body (which is at once body-subject and body-object), subjective time (the consciousness of time is neither an act of consciousness nor an object of thought) and the other (the first considerations of the other in Husserl led to solipsism).
The distinction between "acts of thought" (noesis) and "intentional objects of thought" (noema) does not seem, therefore, to constitute an irreducible ground. It appears rather at a higher level of analysis. Thus, Merleau-Ponty does not postulate that "all consciousness is consciousness of something", which supposes at the outset a noetic-noematic ground. Instead, he develops the thesis according to which "all consciousness is perceptual consciousness". In doing so, he establishes a significant turn in the development of phenomenology, indicating that its conceptualisations should be re-examined in the light of the primacy of perception, in weighing up the philosophical consequences of this thesis.
Corporeity
Taking the study of perception as his point of departure, Merleau-Ponty was led to recognize that one's own body (le corps propre) is not only a thing, a potential object of study for science, but is also a permanent condition of experience, a constituent of the perceptual openness to the world. He therefore underlines the fact that there is an inherence of consciousness and of the body of which the analysis of perception should take account. The primacy of perception signifies a primacy of experience, so to speak, insofar as perception becomes an active and constitutive dimension.
Merleau-Ponty demonstrates a corporeity of consciousness as much as an intentionality of the body, and so stands in contrast with the dualist ontology of mind and body in Descartes, a philosopher to whom Merleau-Ponty continually returned, despite the important differences that separate them. In the Phenomenology of Perception Merleau-Ponty wrote: “Insofar as I have hands, feet, a body, I sustain around me intentions which are not dependent on my decisions and which affect my surroundings in a way that I do not choose” (1962, p. 440).
Spatiality
The question concerning corporeity connects also with Merleau-Ponty's reflections on space (l'espace) and the primacy of the dimension of depth (la profondeur) as implied in the notion of being in the world (être au monde; to echo Heidegger's In-der-Welt-sein) and of one's own body (le corps propre). Reflections on spatiality in phenomenology are also central to the advanced philosophical deliberations in architectural theory.
Language
The highlighting of the fact that corporeity intrinsically has a dimension of expressivity which proves to be fundamental to the constitution of the ego is one of the conclusions of The Structure of Behavior that is constantly reiterated in Merleau-Ponty's later works. Following this theme of expressivity, he goes on to examine how an incarnate subject is in a position to undertake actions that transcend the organic level of the body, such as in intellectual operations and the products of one's cultural life.
He carefully considers language, then, as the core of culture, by examining in particular the connections between the unfolding of thought and sense—enriching his perspective not only by an analysis of the acquisition of language and the expressivity of the body, but also by taking into account pathologies of language, painting, cinema, literature, poetry and song.
This work deals mainly with language, beginning with the reflection on artistic expression in The Structure of Behavior—which contains a passage on El Greco (p. 203ff) that prefigures the remarks that he develops in "Cézanne's Doubt" (1945) and follows the discussion in Phenomenology of Perception. The work, undertaken while serving as the Chair of Child Psychology and Pedagogy at the University of the Sorbonne, is not a departure from his philosophical and phenomenological works, but rather an important continuation in the development of his thought.
As the course outlines of his Sorbonne lectures indicate, during this period he continues a dialogue between phenomenology and the diverse work carried out in psychology, all in order to return to the study of the acquisition of language in children, as well as to broadly take advantage of the contribution of Ferdinand de Saussure to linguistics, and to work on the notion of structure through a discussion of work in psychology, linguistics and social anthropology.
Art
Merleau-Ponty distinguishes between primary and secondary modes of expression. This distinction appears in Phenomenology of Perception (p. 207, 2nd note [Fr. ed.]) and is sometimes repeated in terms of spoken and speaking language () (The Prose of the World, p. 10). Spoken language (), or secondary expression, returns to our linguistic baggage, to the cultural heritage that we have acquired, as well as the brute mass of relationships between signs and significations. Speaking language (), or primary expression, such as it is, is language in the production of a sense, language at the advent of a thought, at the moment where it makes itself an advent of sense.
It is speaking language, that is to say, primary expression, that interests Merleau-Ponty and which keeps his attention through his treatment of the nature of production and the reception of expressions, a subject which also overlaps with an analysis of action, of intentionality, of perception, as well as the links between freedom and external conditions.
The notion of style occupies an important place in "Indirect Language and the Voices of Silence". In spite of certain similarities with André Malraux, Merleau-Ponty distinguishes himself from Malraux in respect to three conceptions of style, the last of which is employed in Malraux's The Voices of Silence. Merleau-Ponty remarks that in this work "style" is sometimes used by Malraux in a highly subjective sense, understood as a projection of the artist's individuality. Sometimes it is used, on the contrary, in a very metaphysical sense (in Merleau-Ponty's opinion, a mystical sense), in which style is connected with a conception of an "über-artist" expressing "the Spirit of Painting". Finally, it sometimes is reduced to simply designating a categorization of an artistic school or movement. (However, this account of Malraux's notion of style—a key element in his thinking—is open to serious question.)
For Merleau-Ponty, it is these uses of the notion of style that lead Malraux to postulate a cleavage between the objectivity of Italian Renaissance painting and the subjectivity of painting in his own time, a conclusion that Merleau-Ponty disputes. According to Merleau-Ponty, it is important to consider the heart of this problematic, by recognizing that style is first of all a demand owed to the primacy of perception, which also implies taking into consideration the dimensions of historicity and intersubjectivity. (However, Merleau-Ponty's reading of Malraux has been questioned in a recent major study of Malraux's theory of art which argues that Merleau-Ponty seriously misunderstood Malraux.) For Merleau-Ponty, style is born of the interaction between two or more fields of being. Rather than being exclusive to individual human consciousness, consciousness is born of the pre-conscious style of the world, of Nature.
Science
In his essay "Cézanne's Doubt", in which he identifies Paul Cézanne's impressionistic theory of painting as analogous to his own concept of radical reflection, the attempt to return to, and reflect on, prereflective consciousness, Merleau-Ponty identifies science as the opposite of art. In Merleau-Ponty's account, whereas art is an attempt to capture an individual's perception, science is anti-individualistic. In the preface to his Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty presents a phenomenological objection to positivism: that it can tell us nothing about human subjectivity. All that a scientific text can explain is the particular individual experience of that scientist, which cannot be transcended. For Merleau-Ponty, science neglects the depth and profundity of the phenomena that it endeavors to explain.
Merleau-Ponty understood science to be an ex post facto abstraction. Causal and physiological accounts of perception, for example, explain perception in terms that are arrived at only after abstracting from the phenomenon itself. Merleau-Ponty chastised science for taking itself to be the area in which a complete account of nature may be given. The subjective depth of phenomena cannot be given in science as it is. This characterizes Merleau-Ponty's attempt to ground science in phenomenological objectivity and, in essence, to institute a "return to the phenomena".
Influence
Anticognitivist cognitive science
Merleau-Ponty's critical position with respect to science was stated in his Preface to the Phenomenology: he described scientific points of view as "always both naive and at the same time dishonest". Despite, or perhaps because of, this view, his work influenced and anticipated the strands of modern psychology known as post-cognitivism. Hubert Dreyfus has been instrumental in emphasising the relevance of Merleau-Ponty's work to current post-cognitive research, and its criticism of the traditional view of cognitive science.
Dreyfus's seminal critique of cognitivism (or the computational account of the mind), What Computers Can't Do, consciously replays Merleau-Ponty's critique of intellectualist psychology to argue for the irreducibility of corporeal know-how to discrete, syntactic processes. Through the influence of Dreyfus's critique and neurophysiological alternative, Merleau-Ponty became associated with neurophysiological, connectionist accounts of cognition.
With the publication in 1991 of The Embodied Mind by Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch, this association was extended, if only partially, to another strand of "anti-cognitivist" or post-representationalist cognitive science: embodied or enactive cognitive science, and later in the decade, to neurophenomenology. In addition, Merleau-Ponty's work has also influenced researchers trying to integrate neuroscience with the principles of chaos theory.
It was through this relationship with Merleau-Ponty's work that cognitive science's affair with phenomenology was born, which is represented by a growing number of works, including
Ron McClamrock's Existential Cognition: Computational Minds in the World (1995),
Andy Clark's Being There (1997),
Naturalizing Phenomenology edited by Petitot et al. (1999),
Alva Noë's Action in Perception (2004),
Shaun Gallagher's How the Body Shapes the Mind (2005),
Grammont, Franck Dorothée Legrand, and Pierre Livet (eds.) 2010, Naturalizing Intention in Action, MIT Press 2010 .
The journal Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences.
Feminist philosophy
Merleau-Ponty has also been picked up by Australian and Nordic philosophers inspired by the French feminist tradition, including Rosalyn Diprose and .
Heinämaa has argued for a rereading of Merleau-Ponty's influence on Simone de Beauvoir. (She has also challenged Dreyfus's reading of Merleau-Ponty as behaviorist, and as neglecting the importance of the phenomenological reduction to Merleau-Ponty's thought.)
Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of the body has also been taken up by Iris Young in her essay "Throwing Like a Girl," and its follow-up, "'Throwing Like a Girl': Twenty Years Later". Young analyzes the particular modalities of feminine bodily comportment as they differ from that of men. Young observes that while a man who throws a ball puts his whole body into the motion, a woman throwing a ball generally restricts her own movements as she makes them, and that, generally, in sports, women move in a more tentative, reactive way. Merleau-Ponty argues that we experience the world in terms of the "I can" – that is, oriented towards certain projects based on our capacity and habituality. Young's thesis is that in women, this intentionality is inhibited and ambivalent, rather than confident, experienced as an "I cannot".
Ecophenomenology
Ecophenomenology can be described as the pursuit of the relationalities of worldly engagement, both human and those of other creatures (Brown & Toadvine 2003).
This engagement is situated in a kind of middle ground of relationality, a space that is neither purely objective, because it is reciprocally constituted by a diversity of lived experiences motivating the movements of countless organisms, nor purely subjective, because it is nonetheless a field of material relationships between bodies. It is governed exclusively neither by causality, nor by intentionality. In this space of in-betweenness, phenomenology can overcome its inaugural opposition to naturalism.
David Abram explains Merleau-Ponty's concept of "flesh" (chair) as "the mysterious tissue or matrix that underlies and gives rise to both the perceiver and the perceived as interdependent aspects of its spontaneous activity", and he identifies this elemental matrix with the interdependent web of earthly life. This concept unites subject and object dialectically as determinations within a more primordial reality, which Merleau-Ponty calls "the flesh" and which Abram refers to variously as "the animate earth", "the breathing biosphere" or "the more-than-human natural world". Yet this is not nature or the biosphere conceived as a complex set of objects and objective processes, but rather "the biosphere as it is experienced and lived from within by the intelligent body — by the attentive human animal who is entirely a part of the world that he or she experiences. Merleau-Ponty's ecophenemonology with its emphasis on holistic dialog within the larger-than-human world also has implications for the ontogenesis and phylogenesis of language; indeed he states that "language is the very voice of the trees, the waves and the forest".
Merleau-Ponty himself refers to "that primordial being which is not yet the subject-being nor the object-being and which in every respect baffles reflection. From this primordial being to us, there is no derivation, nor any break..." Among the many working notes found on his desk at the time of his death, and published with the half-complete manuscript of The Visible and the Invisible, several make it evident that Merleau-Ponty himself recognized a deep affinity between his notion of a primordial "flesh" and a radically transformed understanding of "nature". Hence, in November 1960 he writes: "Do a psychoanalysis of Nature: it is the flesh, the mother." And in the last published working note, written in March 1961, he writes: "Nature as the other side of humanity (as flesh, nowise as 'matter')." This resonates with the conception of space, place, dwelling, and embodiment (in the flesh and physical, vs. virtual and cybernetic), especially as they are addressed against the background of the unfolding of the essence of modern technology. Such analytics figure in a Heideggerian take on “econtology” as an extension of Heidegger's consideration of the question of being (Seinsfrage) by way of the fourfold (Das Geviert) of earth-sky-mortals-divinities (Erde und Himmel, Sterblichen und Göttlichen). In this strand of “ecophenomenology”, ecology is co-entangled with ontology, whereby the worldly existential analytics are grounded in earthiness, and environmentalism is orientated by ontological thinking.
Bibliography
The following table gives a selection of Merleau-Ponty's works in French and English translation.
See also
Gestalt psychology
Process philosophy
Embodied cognition
Enactivism
Difference (philosophy)
Virtuality (philosophy)
Field (physics)
Hylomorphism
Autopoiesis
Emergence
Umwelt
Habit
Body schema
Affordance
Perspectivism
Reflexivity
Invagination (philosophy)
Incarnation
Notes
References
Abram, D. (1988). "Merleau-Ponty and the Voice of the Earth" Environmental Ethics 10, no. 2 (Summer 1988): 101–20.
Alloa, E. (2017) Resistance of the Sensible World. An Introduction to Merleau-Ponty, New York: Fordham University Press.
Alloa,E., F. Chouraqui & R. Kaushik, (2019) (eds.) Merleau-Ponty and Contemporary Philosophy, Albany: SUNY Press.
Barbaras, R. (2004) The Being of the Phenomenon. Merleau-Ponty's Ontology Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Carbone, M. (2004) The Thinking of the Sensible. Merleau-Ponty's A-Philosophy, Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Clark, A. (1997) Being There: Putting Brain, Body, and World Together Again. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dillon, M. C. (1997) Merleau-Ponty's Ontology. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Gallagher, S. (2003) How the Body Shapes the Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Guilherme, Alexandre and Morgan, W. John, 'Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961)-dialogue as being present to the other'. Chapter 6 in Philosophy, Dialogue, and Education: Nine modern European philosophers, Routledge, London and New York, pp. 89–108, .
Johnson, G., Smith, M. B. (eds.) (1993) The Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader: Philosophy and Painting, Chicago: Northwestern UP 1993.
Landes, D. (2013) Merleau-Ponty and the Paradoxes of Expression, New York-London: Bloomsbury.
Lawlor, L., Evans, F. (eds.) (2000) Chiasms: Merleau-Ponty's Notion of Flesh, Albany: SUNY Press.
Petitot, J., Varela, F., Pachoud, B. and Roy, J-M. (eds.) (1999) Naturalizing Phenomenology: Issues in Contemporary Phenomenology and Cognitive Science. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Toadvine, T. (2009) Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy of Nature. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Tilliette, X. (1970) Maurice Merleau-Ponty ou la mesure de l'homme, Seghers, 1970.
Varela, F. J., Thompson, E. and Rosch, E. (1991) The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. Cambridge: MIT Press.
External links
Maurice Merleau-Ponty at 18 from the French Government website
English Translations of Merleau-Ponty's Work
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Maurice Merleau-Ponty by Jack Reynolds
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Maurice Merleau-Ponty by Ted Toadvine
The Merleau-Ponty Circle — Association of scholars interested in the works of Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty page at Mythos & Logos
Chiasmi International — Studies Concerning the Thought of Maurice Merleau-Ponty in English, French and Italian
O’Loughlin, Marjorie, 1995, "Intelligent Bodies and Ecological Subjectivities: Merleau-Ponty’s Corrective to Postmodernism’s “Subjects” of Education."
Popen, Shari, 1995, "Merleau-Ponty Confronts Postmodernism: A Reply to O’Loughlin."
Merleau-Ponty: Reckoning with the Possibility of an 'Other.'
The Journal of French Philosophy — the online home of the Bulletin de la Société Américaine de Philosophie de Langue Française
Online Merleau-Ponty Bibliography at PhilPapers.org
1908 births
1961 deaths
20th-century French non-fiction writers
20th-century French philosophers
Action theorists
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
Collège de France faculty
Consciousness researchers and theorists
Continental philosophers
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Ecophenomenologists
Enactive cognition
Environmental philosophers
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Lycée Carnot teachers
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"Thomas Heeremans (1641–1694) was a Dutch painter and art dealer. He is known for his landscapes of winter scenes, cityscapes, harbor scenes, beach views, river views and village scenes. He was influenced by Klaes Molenaer, a slightly older painter also from Haarlem.\n\nLife\n\nHeeremans was born and died in Haarlem. He was in the past sometimes erroneously referred to as Frederik Hendrik Mans, likely because he signed his name \"THMANS\" with the \"THM\" together, leading dealers to assume his name was F.H. Mans. \n\nHeeremans was baptized in the Reformed Church of Haarlem on 29 May 1641. He became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke in 1664. He may have been a pupil of Caesar van Everdingen. Heeremans married Trijntje Claesdr (who was originally from Leiden) on 4 December 1663 in Haarlem. The couple had five children between 1664 and 1673, who were baptized in the Reformed Church. His first wife was buried on 26 September 1680. The artist then married Sibilla Juriaensdr., a woman from Marck county in Germany, with whom he had a son, Gijsbert.\n\nThe exact date of death of the artist is not known. It is recorded he was buried at the Noorderkerkhof on 24 January 1694.\n\nWork\nHe is primarily known for his winter landscapes, cityscapes, harbor scenes, beach views, river views and village scenes. He frequently returned to painting the beach at Scheveningen and the village, beach and ruins of Egmond. His pictures frequently go in pairs. His earliest dated work is from 1660 while last dated work is from 1695.\n\nNo influence of his presumed master Caesar van Everdingen is visible in the work of Heeremans as he was purely a landscape artist and not a figure painter. His style was rather influenced by Klaes Molenaer particularly in his depiction of winter landscapes and river scenes. Heeremans' works are distinguished from the rather melancholic scenes of Molenaer by the use of a brighter palette and the introduction of more lively movement in the scenes, which are populated by many villagers engaged in various activities such as skating, sledging, fishing and talking.\n\nHeeremans sometimes collaborated with specialist figure painters who would add the staffage in his landscapes. One of his collaborators was Abraham Storck, who painted the figures in the Winter landscape with the Montelbaanstoren, Amsterdam (Christie's New York sale of \n14 April 2016, lot 247).\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1641 births\n1694 deaths\nDutch Golden Age painters\nDutch male painters\nArtists from Haarlem\nPainters from Haarlem",
"Plum Park in Kameido (亀戸梅屋舗, Kameido Umeyashiki) is a woodblock print in the ukiyo-e genre by the Japanese artist Hiroshige. It was published in 1857 as the thirtieth print in the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series and depicts Prunus mume trees in bloom.\n\nVincent van Gogh, who was influenced by Japanese prints, reproduced the image in his 1887 painting Flowering Plum Tree (after Hiroshige).\n\nOne Hundred Famous Views of Edo\nThe picture is part of the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo which actually features 119 views of named places or celebrated spots in the city of Edo (modern Tokyo). The series was the first to feature this many separate landscape views.\n\nThe series was produced between 1856 and 1859, with Hiroshige II finishing the series after the death of Hiroshige in 1858. This print is the 30th in the series, within its spring section, and was published in the eleventh month of 1857. The series was commissioned shortly after the 1855 Edo earthquake and subsequent fires, and featured many of the newly rebuilt or repaired buildings. The prints may have commemorated or helped draw the attention of Edo's citizens to the progress of the rebuilding. The series is in portrait orientation, which was a break from ukiyo-e tradition for landscape prints, and proved popular with his audience.\n\nDescription\n\nThe print shows part of the most famous tree in Edo, the , which had blossoms \"so white when full in bloom as to drive off the darkness\" and branches that travelled looping across the ground like a dragon to emerge as further trunks over an area of 50 square feet. The tree is shown with a unique abstract composition, with wide branches taking up much of the foreground but cropped by the frame of the picture giving a resemblance to Japanese calligraphy.\nThe tree is situated in Umeyashiki, a plum garden by the banks of the Sumida River in Kameido. Visible between the branches of the Sleeping Dragon Plum are further trees and small figures behind a low fence contemplating the plum blossom. A sign, possibly forbidding vandalism, is in the foreground at the top left of the image.\nThe image demonstrates Hiroshige's mastery of Japanese landscapes and uses his exaggerated single-point perspective whereby the closest objects in view are increased in size. The positioning of the undetailed subject 'too close to the lens' is intended to draw the eye to the scene beyond. In addition the use of the unnatural red sky has the effect of flattening the visible space.\n\nInfluence\nHiroshige's most popular prints were produced in the tens of thousands at a low individual cost and due to the opening up of Japan after 1853 were popular both in Japan and Europe where they had a huge influence on the Impressionist artists.\n\nVincent van Gogh was a collector of Japanese prints, decorating his studio with them. He was heavily influenced by these prints, particularly those by Hiroshige, and in 1887 painted copies of two of the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake and Plum Park. He made these copies in order to try out for himself elements he admired such as the cropped composition, decorative use of colour, large blocks of colour with strong outlines, flat brushstrokes, and diagonal elements. Van Gogh ignored the shading present in the trunk and background of Hiroshige's image, which there implied age, and instead used colours with more \"passion\" and \"youthfulness\".\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Many different versions of the print from ukiyo-e.org\n\nWorks by Hiroshige\n1857 prints\n1857 in Japan\nLandscape prints"
]
|
[
"Rahul Dravid",
"Golden years"
]
| C_ae935d6d2cbd4989b9af39d2c8b4f36c_1 | At what age did Rahul begin playing cricket? | 1 | At what age did Rahul Dravid begin playing cricket? | Rahul Dravid | As the new international season commenced, the first and foremost challenge for the newly appointed captain and vice-captain, Ganguly and Dravid, was to pull the team out of the shadows of the match fixing scandal. Indian team played 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy with vigour and showed a lot of character beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid played his part scoring 157 runs in 4 matches at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid played the first two matches of 2000-01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy and scored 85 runs in the 2nd match against Zimbabwe opening the innings before getting injured while fielding at slips forcing him to miss the rest of the tournament. India started off the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk inning of 49 ball 41 runs, including 5 fours and a six, chasing a target of 63 runs. However, Dravid's poor patch truly ended in the next Test series against Zimbabwe, which was also the first series for John Wright as the new Indian coach. Wright was instrumental in Dravid's association with Kent earlier this year. Dravid returned the favour by recommending his name to the BCCI for the post of national team coach. By now, Dravid had played 8 Tests since his last hundred against New Zealand at Mohali scoring just 350 runs at a paltry average of 23.33 without a single fifty plus inning. The Indian vice-captain ended the run drought and welcomed the new Indian coach with a double hundred - Dravid's first. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second inning guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 - highest batting average by an Indian in a Test series. Dravid scored just a solitary fifty in the second of the five match bilateral ODI series between India and Zimbabwe. However, the series proved to be a milestone in Dravid's career. Dravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the 5th match of the series as the regular captain Ganguly had to sit out due to one match suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39 run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the under-19 team finished runners up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Known for his sound batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall.
Born in a Marathi family and raised in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.
As of December 2016, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. In 2004, after completing his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played. He has faced 31258 balls, which is the highest number of balls faced by any player in test cricket. He has also spent 44152 minutes at the crease, which is the highest time spent on crease by any player in test cricket. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are currently the highest scoring partnership in Test cricket history having scored 6920 runs combined when batting together for India.
In August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.
Rahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively.
In 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. Indian badminton player Prannoy Kumar, Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and young Golfer S. Chikkarangappa was part of the initial group of athletes to be mentored by Rahul Dravid. In July 2018, Dravid became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.
Early life
Dravid was born in a Marathi-Speaking Brahmin family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His family later moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, where he was raised. His mother tongue is Marathi. Dravid's father Sharad Dravid worked for a company that makes jams and preserves, giving rise to the later nickname Jammy. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore. Dravid has a younger brother named Vijay. He did his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore. He was selected to India's national cricket team while working towards an MBA at St Joseph's College of Business Administration. He is fluent in several languages: Marathi, Kannada, English and Hindi.
Formative years and domestic career
Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented Karnataka at the under-15, the under-17 and the under-19 levels. Former cricketer Keki Tarapore first noticed Dravid's talent while coaching at a summer camp in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dravid scored a century for his school team. He also played as wicket-keeper.
Dravid made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991, while still attending college. Playing alongside future India teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath against Maharashtra in Pune, he scored 82 runs in the match, which ended in a draw. He followed it up with a century against Bengal and three successive centuries after. However, Dravid's first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries and finished up with 380 runs at an average of 63.30, getting selected for the South Zone cricket team in the Duleep Trophy. Dravid's caught the national team selectors' eye with his good performances for India A in the home series against England A in 1994–95.
International career
Debut
Dravid, who had been knocking at the doors of Indian national cricket team for quite a while with his consistent performance in domestic cricket, received his first national call in October 1994, for the last two matches of the Wills World Series. However, he could not break into the playing eleven. He went back to the domestic circuit and kept knocking harder. So much so, that when the selectors announced the Indian team for the 1996 World Cup sans Dravid, an Indian daily newspaper carried a headline – "Rahul Dravid gets a raw deal". Dravid eventually made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the Singer Cup held in Singapore immediately after the 1996 World Cup, replacing Vinod Kambli. He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat, scoring just three runs before being dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan, but took two catches in the match. He followed it up with another failure in the next game scoring just four runs before getting run out against Pakistan.
In contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian squad touring England on the backdrop of a consistent performance in domestic cricket for five years. Fine performances in the tour games including fifties against Gloucestershire and Leicestershire failed to earn him a place in the team for the First Test. He finally made his Test debut at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series at the expense of injured senior batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar, who was suffering from an ankle injury, was to undergo a fitness test on the morning of the Second Test. Dravid had already been informed that he would play if Manjrekar fails the test. As Manjrekar failed the fitness test, ten minutes before the toss, Sandeep Patil, the then Indian coach, went up to Dravid to inform him that he was indeed going to make his debut that day. Patil recalled years later:
Coming in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships, first with another debutante Sourav Ganguly and then with Indian lower order, securing a vital first innings lead for his team. Dravid scored 95 runs before getting out to the bowling of Chris Lewis. He was just five runs short of a landmark debut hundred when he nicked a Lewis delivery to the keeper and walked even before umpire's decision. He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismiss Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Srinath. In the next tour game against British Universities, Dravid scored a hundred. He scored another fifty in the first innings of the Third Test. Dravid concluded a successful debut series with an impressive average of 62.33 from two Test matches.
1996–98: A tale of two formats
Dravid's early years in international cricket mirrored his international debut. He had contrasting fortunes in the long and the shorter format of the game. While he straightaway made a name for himself in Test cricket, he had to struggle quite a bit to make a mark in ODIs.
After a successful Test debut in England, Dravid played in the one-off Test against Australia in Delhi – his first Test in India. Batting at no. 6, he scored 40 runs in the first innings. Dravid batted at no. 3 position for the first time in the First Test of the three-match home series against South Africa in Ahmedabad in November 1996. He didn't do too well in the series scoring just 175 runs at a modest average of 29.16.
Two weeks later, India toured South Africa for a three–match Test series. Chasing a target of 395 runs in the First Test, Indian team bundled out meekly for 66 runs on the Durban pitch that provided excessive bounce and seam movement. Dravid, batting at no. 6, was the only Indian batsman who reached double figures in the innings scoring 27 not out. He was promoted to the no. 3 slot again in the second innings of the Second Test, a move that paid rich dividends in the ensuing Test. He almost won the Third Test for India with his maiden test hundred in the first innings scoring 148 runs and another 81 runs in the second innings at Wanderers before the thunderstorms, dim light and Cullinan's hundred saved the day for South Africa enabling them to draw the match. Dravid's performance in this Test earned him his first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. He top scored for India in the series with 277 runs at an average of 55.40.
Dravid continued in the same vein in the West Indies where he once again top scored for India in the five–match Test series aggregating 360 runs at an average of 72.00 including four fifties. 92 runs scored in the first innings of the fifth match in Georgetown earned him a joint Man of the Match award along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With this series, Dravid concluded a successful 1996/97 Test season, topping the international runs chart with 852 runs from 12 matches at an average of 50.11 with six fifties and one hundred.
Dravid continued his good run scoring seven fifties in the next eight Tests that included fifties in six consecutive innings (three each against Sri Lanka and Australia), becoming only the second Indian to do so after Gundappa Vishwanath. By the end of 1997/98 Test season, he had scored 15 fifties in 22 Tests which included four scores of nineties but just a solitary hundred.
The century drought came to an end in the 1998/99 Test season when he further raised the bar of his performance scoring 752 runs in seven Tests at an average of 62.66 that included four hundreds and one fifty and in the process topping the runs chart for India for the season. The first of those four hundreds came on the Zimbabwe tour. Dravid top scored in both the innings against Zimbabwe scoring 118 and 44 runs respectively however, India lost the one-off Test.
The Zimbabwe tour was followed by a tour to New Zealand. First Test having been abandoned without a ball being bowled, the series started for Dravid with the first duck of his Test career in the first innings of the Second Test and ended with hundreds in both the innings of the Third Test in Hamilton. He scored 190 and 103 not out in the first and the second innings respectively, becoming only the third Indian batsman, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to score a century in both innings of a Test match. Dravid topped the runs table for the series with 321 runs from two matches at an average of 107.00 but could not prevent India from losing the series 0–1.
Later that month, India played a two Test home series against Pakistan. Dravid didn't contribute much with the bat. India lost the First Test but won the Second Test in Delhi riding on Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul. Dravid played his part in the 10-wicket haul by taking a catch to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed who was Kumble's eighth victim of the innings. The Indo-Pak Test series was followed by the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship. Dravid couldn't do much with the bat as India went on to lose the riot-affected First Test of the championship against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. India went to Sri Lanka to play the Second Test of the championship. Dravid scored his fourth hundred of the season at Colombo in the first innings of the match. He also effected a brilliant run out of Russel Arnold during Sri Lankan innings fielding at short leg. On the fourth morning, Dravid got injured while fielding at the same position when the ball from Jayawardene's pull shot hit his face through the helmet grill. He didn't come out to bat in the second innings due to the injury. The match ended in a draw as India failed to qualify for the Finals of the championship.
In a stark contrast to his Test career, Dravid had to struggle a lot to make a mark in the ODIs. Between his ODI debut in April 1996 and the end of 1998 calendar year, Dravid regularly found himself in and out of the ODI team.
Dravid tasted first success of his ODI career in the 1996 'Friendship' Cup against Pakistan in the tough conditions of Toronto. He emerged as the highest scorer of the series with 220 runs in five matches at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of 68.53. He won his first ODI Man of the Match award for the 46 runs scored in the low scoring third game of the series. He top scored for India in the Standard Bank International One-Day Series 1996/97 in South Africa with 280 runs from eight games at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 60.73, the highlight being a Man of the Match award-winning performance (84 runs, one catch) in the Final of the series that came in a losing cause. He was the second highest run scorer for India in the four-match bilateral ODI series in the West Indies in 1996/97 with 121 runs at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 57.61. Dravid's maiden ODI hundred came in a losing cause in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup against Pakistan in Chennai. Dravid top scored for India in the quadrangular event with 189 runs from three games at an average of 94.50 and a strike rate of 75.60 however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the series.
However, Dravid's achievements in the ODIs were dwarfed by his failures in the shorter format of the game. 14 runs from two games in the 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup; 20 runs from two innings in the Singer World Series; 65 runs from four innings in the 1997 'Friendship' Cup; 88 runs from four games in the 1998 Coca-Cola Triangular Series including a 22-ball five runs and a 21-ball one run innings, both coming against Bangladesh; 32 runs from four games in the 1998 'Friendship' Cup; a slew of such poor performances often forced him to the sidelines of the India ODI squad. By the end of 1998, Dravid had scored 1709 runs in 65 ODIs at a humble average of 31.64 with a poor strike rate of 63.48.
By now, Dravid had been branded as a Test specialist. While he continued to score heavily in Test cricket, his poor strike rate in ODIs came under scanner. He drew criticism for not being able to adjust his style of play to the needs of ODI cricket, his lack of attacking capability and play big strokes. However, Dravid worked hard and re-tooled his game by increasing his range of strokes and adapting his batting style to suit the requirements of ODI cricket. He learned to pace his innings cleverly without going for the slogs.
Dravid's ODI renaissance began during the 1998/99 New Zealand tour. He scored a run-a-ball hundred in the first match of the bilateral ODI series that earned him his third Man of the Match award in ODIs. The hundred came in a losing cause. However, his effort of 51 runs from 71 balls in the Fourth ODI came in India's victory and earned him his second Man of the Match award of the series. He ended as the top scorer of the series with 309 runs from five games at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 84.65. Dravid scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in 1998/99 Pepsi Cup at Nagpur adding a record 236 runs for the 2nd wicket with Ganguly, who also scored a hundred in the match. Uncharacteristically, Dravid was the faster of the two scoring 116 of 118 deliveries. In the next match against Pakistan, he bowled four overs and took the wicket of Saeed Anwar, out caught behind by wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. This was his first wicket in international cricket.
Dravid warmed up for his debut World Cup with two fifties in the 1998–99 Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah, one each against England and Pakistan. Standing-in as the substitute wicket-keeper in the third match of the series for Nayan Mongia, who got injured during keeping, Dravid effected two dismissals. He first stumped Graeme Hick off Sunil Joshi's bowling, who became Dravid's first victim as a wicket-keeper, and then caught Neil Fairbrother off Ajay Jadeja's bowling. He top scored for India in the tournament, though his last ODI innings before the World Cup was a golden duck against Pakistan, in the Final of the series.
Debut World Cup success
Dravid announced his form in England hitting consecutive fifties against Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the warm-up games.
He made his World Cup debut against South Africa at Hove striking a half century, but scored just 13 in the next game against Zimbabwe. India lost both the games. Having lost the first two games, India needed to win the remaining three games of the first round to have any chance of advancing into the Super Six stage. Dravid put up a partnership of 237 runs with Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol – a World Cup record – and in the process hit his maiden World Cup hundred, helping India to a 94-run victory. India's designated keeper Mongia left the field at the end of 9th over during Kenyan innings, forcing Dravid to keep the wickets for the rest of the innings. In the absence of injured Nayan Mongia, Dravid played his first ODI as a designated keeper against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Dravid once again staged a record breaking partnership worth 318 runs – the first ever three hundred run partnership in ODI history – but this time with Sourav Ganguly, guiding India to a 157-run win. Dravid scored 145 runs from 129 balls with 17 fours and a six, becoming the second batsman in World Cup history to hit back-to-back hundreds. Dravid struck a fine fifty in the last group match as India defeated England to advance into the Super Six stage. Dravid scored 2, 61 & 29 in the three Super Six matches against Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand respectively. India failed to qualify for the semi-finals having lost to Australia and New Zealand but achieved a consolation victory against Pakistan in a tense game, what with the military conflict going on between the two countries in Kashmir at the same time. Dravid emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 461 runs from 8 games at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate of 85.52.
Dravid's post-World Cup campaign started on a poor note with just 40 runs coming in 4 games of Aiwa Cup in August 1999. He soon came into his own, top-scoring for India in two consecutive limited-overs series – the Singapore Challenge, the highlight being a hundred in the Final coming in a lost cause, and the DMC Cup, the highlight being a match winning effort (77 runs, 4 catches) in the series decider for which he received man-of-the-match award. Dravid topped the international runs chart for 1999 cricket season across all formats scoring 782 runs from 19 matches. By now, Dravid had started to keep wickets on an infrequent basis with India fielding him as designated wicket-keeper in five out of 10 ODIs played in the three events.
Dravid kick-started his post World Cup Test season with a decent outing against New Zealand in the 3-match home series. His best effort of the series came in the second innings of the First test at Mohali scoring 144, helping India salvage a draw after being bowled out for 83 runs in the First innings. This was Dravid's sixth test hundred but his first test hundred on Indian soil. Dravid did well in the 3–2 series win against New Zealand in the bilateral ODI series, scoring 240 runs in 5 games at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 83.62, ending as the second highest scorer in the series. His career best effort in ODIs came in this series in the second game at Hyderabad where he scored run-a-ball 153 runs which included 15 fours and two sixes. He featured in a 331-run partnership with Tendulkar, which was the highest partnership in ODI cricket history, a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken in 2015. In 1999, Dravid scored 1761 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 46.34 and a strike rate of 75.16 including 6 hundreds and 8 fifties and featured in two 300+ partnerships.
India toured Australia in December 1999 for a 3-match test series and a triangular ODI tournament. Although Dravid scored a hundred against Tasmania in the practice match, he failed miserably with the bat in the Test series as India slumped to a 0–3 whitewash. He did reasonably well in the 1999–2000 Carlton & United Series scoring 3 fifties in the triangular event however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the tournament.
Dravid's poor form in Tests continued as India suffered a 0–2 whitewash against South Africa in a home series. He had moderate success in the bilateral ODI series against South Africa. He contributed to India's 3–2 series win with 208 runs at an average of 41.60 which included 2 fifties and three wickets at an average of 22.66 topping the bowling average chart for the series. His career best bowling figure of 2/43 from nine overs in the First ODI at Kochi, was also the best bowling figure by any bowler in that particular match.
Rise through the ranks
In February 2000, Tendulkar's resignation from captaincy led to the promotion of Ganguly, the vice-captain then, as the new captain of the Indian team. In May 2000, while Dravid was busy playing county cricket in England, he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team announced for the Asia cup.
India did well in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. Indian team, coming out of the shadows of the infamous match fixing scandal, showed a lot of character under the new leadership of Ganguly and Dravid, beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid scored 157 runs in 4 matches of the tournament, at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid scored 85 runs in a match against Zimbabwe in the 2000–01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy while opening the innings but was forced to miss the rest of the tournament because of an injury.
India kick started the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk knock of 41 runs from 49 balls, including 5 fours and a six, while chasing a target of 63 runs. The ensuing test series against Zimbabwe was John Wright's first assignment as Indian coach. Dravid, who was instrumental in Wright's appointment as India's first foreign head coach, welcomed him with his maiden double hundred. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second, guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 – highest batting average by an Indian in a series across all formats.
Dravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the fifth match of the bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe in the absence of Ganguly who was serving suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39-run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain.
History at Eden
The Australian team toured India in February 2001 for what was being billed as the Final Frontier for Steve Waugh's all conquering men, who were coming on the back of 15 consecutive Test wins. Dravid failed in the first innings of the First Test but displayed strong resilience in Tendulkar's company in the second innings. Dravid's 196 ball long resistance finally ended when he got out bowled to Warne for 39 runs. Australians extended their winning streak to 16 Tests as they beat India convincingly by 10 wickets inside three days.
The Australian juggernaut seemed unstoppable as they looked on course towards their 17th consecutive victory in the Second Test at the Eden Gardens, when they bowled India out for meagre 171 in the first innings and enforced a follow-on after securing a massive lead of 274 runs. In the second innings, Laxman, who had scored a fine fifty in the first innings, was promoted to no. 3 position which had been Dravid's usual spot for quite sometime now, while Dravid, who had gotten out bowled to Warne for second time in a row in the first innings for just 25 runs, was relegated to no. 6 position. When Dravid joined Laxman in the middle on the third day of the Test, with scoreboard reading 232/4 and India still needing 42 runs to avoid an innings defeat, another convincing win for Australia looked inevitable. Instead, two of them staged one of the greatest fightbacks in cricketing history.
Dravid and Laxman played out the remaining time on the third day and whole of the fourth day, denying Australia any wicket on Day 4. Dravid, angered by the flak that the Indian team had been receiving lately in the media coverage, celebrated his hundred in an uncharacteristic fashion brandishing his bat at the press box. Eventually, Laxman got out on the fifth morning bringing the 376-runs partnership to an end. Dravid soon perished getting run out for 180 while trying to force the pace. Ganguly declared the innings at 657/7, setting Australia a target of 384 runs with 75 overs left in the match. An inspired team India bowled superbly to dismiss Australia for 212 in 68.3 overs. India won the match by 171 runs. This was only the third instance of a team winning a Test after following-on and India became the 2nd team to do so.
Dravid scored 81 runs in the first innings of the Third Test and took 4 catches in the match as India defeated Australia at Chennai in a nail biting finish to clinch the series 2–1. Dravid scored 80 in the first of the 5-match ODI series at his home ground as India won the match by 60 runs. He didn't do too well in the remaining 4 ODIs as Australia won the series 3–2. Dravid topped the averages for the 2000/01 Test season with 839 runs from six matches at an average of 104.87.
Dravid had a decent outing in Zimbabwe, scoring 137 runs from 134 balls in the First Tour game and aggregating 138 runs at an average of 69.00 from the drawn Test series. In the ensuing triangular ODI series, he aggregated 121 runs from 5 matches at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 101.68, the highlight being an unbeaten 72 off 64 balls, while chasing a target of 235 against Zimbabwe in the 3rd match of the series, guiding India to a 4-wicket win with four balls to spare. He was adjudged man of the match for his match winning knock.
On the next tour to Sri Lanka, India lost the first three matches of the triangular event. In the absence of suspended Ganguly, Dravid captained the side in the 4th match leading them to their first victory of the series. India won the next two matches to qualify for the Final. Dravid played crucial innings in all the three victories. Eventually, India lost the Final to Sri Lanka. He top scored for India in the series with 259 runs from seven matches at an average of 51.80 and a strike rate of 59.81. Reinstated to his usual no. 3 position in the absence of injured Laxman, Dravid top scored for India in the ensuing 3-Test series as well with 235 runs at an average of 47.00. The highlight for Dravid was 75 runs scored in the tough fourth innings chase of the Second Test – a crucial contribution to India's first Test win in Sri Lanka since 1993 despite the absence of key players like Tendulkar, Laxman, Srinath and Kumble.
Dravid had decent success in Standard Bank tri-series on South Africa tour, scoring 214 runs (including 3 fifties) at an average of 53.50 and a strike rate of 71.81. He also kept wickets in the final two ODIs of the series effecting 3 stumpings. The highlight for Dravid in the ensuing Test series came in the second innings of the Second Test. India, having failed to last hundred overs in any of the previous three innings in the series, needed to bat out four sessions in the Second Test to save the match. They started on a poor note losing their first wicket in the first over with no runs on the scoreboard. However, Dravid forged an important partnership of 171 runs with Dasgupta that lasted for 83.2 overs taking India to the brink of safety. Poor weather helped India salvage a draw as only 96.2 overs could be bowled in the innings. Dravid captained the team in the 'unofficial' Third test in the absence of injured Ganguly, which India lost by an innings margin.
By the end of the South African tour, Dravid had started experiencing problem in his right shoulder. Although he played the ensuing home test series against England, he pulled out of the six-match bilateral ODI series to undergo shoulder rehabilitation program in South Africa. He returned for the Zimbabwe's tour of India but performed below par, scoring a fifty each in the Test series and the bilateral ODI series.
2002–2006: Peak years
Dravid hit the peak form of his career in 2002. Between Season 2002 and Season 2006, Dravid was the second highest scorer overall and top scorer for India across formats, scoring 8,914 runs from 174 matches at an average of 54.02, including 19 hundreds.
Dravid had a decent outing in West Indies in 2002. The highlights for him included – hitting a hundred with a swollen jaw and helping India avoid the follow-on in the process at Georgetown in the drawn First Test; contributing with a fifty and four catches to India's victory in the Second Test at Port of Spain – India's first Test victory in West Indies since 1975–76; and another fifty in the drawn Fourth Test with a wicket to boot – that of Ridley Jacobs who was batting on 118. This was Dravid's only wicket in Test cricket. He played as India's designated keeper in the ODI series but didn't contribute much with the bat in the 2–1 series win.
A quartet of hundreds
India's tour of England in 2002 started with a triangular ODI event involving India, England and Sri Lanka. India emerged as the winners of the series beating England in the Final – their first victory after nine consecutive defeats in one-day finals. Dravid played as designated keeper in six out of seven matches effecting nine dismissals (6 catches, 3 stumpings) – most by a keeper in the series. He also did well with the bat aggregating 245 runs at an average of 49.00 including three fifties. His performance against Sri Lanka in fourth ODI (64 runs, 1 catch) earned him a man of the match award.
India lost the first of the four match Test series. Having conceded a 260 runs lead in the first innings of the Second Test at Nottingham, Indians were in a spot of bother. However, Dravid led the fightback in the second innings with a hundred as Indians managed to earn a draw.
Ganguly won the toss in the Third Test and took a bold decision to bat first on a gloomy overcast morning at Headingley on a pitch known to be traditionally conducive for fast and swing bowling. Having lost an early wicket, Dravid weathered the storm in company of Sanjay Bangar. They played cautiously, taking body blows on a pitch with uneven bounce. Dravid completed his second hundred of the series in the process. As the conditions became more and more conducive for batting, the Indian batsmen piled on England's misery. Indians declared the innings on 628/8 and then bowled England out twice to register their first test victory in England since 1986. Despite being outscored by Tendulkar, Dravid was awarded man of the match for his efforts. Dravid scored a double hundred in the drawn Fourth Test to notch up his second consecutive man of the match award of the series. Christopher Martin-Jenkins noted during the Fourth Test: Dravid aggregated 602 runs in the series from four matches at an average of 100.33, including three hundreds and a fifty and was adjudged joint man of the series along with Michael Vaughan.
India jointly shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Dravid contributed to India's successful campaign with 120 runs at an average of 60.00 and five dismissals behind the wicket. Dravid scored a hundred in the First Test of the three match home series against West Indies becoming the first Indian batsman to score hundreds in four consecutive Test innings but had to retire soon after owing to severe cramps. Dravid did well in the subsequent bilateral 7-match ODI series aggregating 300 runs at an average of 75.00 and a strike rate of 89.82 including one hundred and two fifties. He also effected 7 dismissals (6 catches, 1 stumping) in the series. India trailing 1–2, needed 325 runs to win the Fourth ODI and level the series. Dravid scored a hundred leading India to a successful chase. He once again scored a crucial fifty in the Sixth ODI as India once again leveled the series after trailing 2–3. India, however, lost the last match to lose the series 3–4.
Dravid top scored for India in the two-match Test series in New Zealand as India slumped to a whitewash. He played as designated keeper in six of the 7-match bilateral ODI series and effected seven dismissals but fared poorly with the bat as India were handed a 2-5 drubbing by the New Zealand.
2003 Cricket World Cup
Dravid arrived in South Africa with the Indian squad to participate in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in the capacity of first-choice keeper-batsman as part of their seven batsmen-four bowlers strategy – an experiment that had brought success to the team in the past year. The idea was that making Dravid keep wickets allowed India to accommodate an extra specialist batsman. The strategy worked out well for India in the World Cup. India recovered from a less than convincing victory against minnows Netherlands and a loss to Australia in the league stage and embarked on a dream run winning eight consecutive matches to qualify for the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1983. India eventually lost the Final to Australia ending as runner-up in the tournament. Dravid contributed to India's campaign with 318 runs at an average of 63.60 and 16 dismissals (15 catches, 1 stumping). Highlights for Dravid in the tournament included a fifty against England, 44 not out against Pakistan in a successful chase and an unbeaten fifty in another successful chase against New Zealand.
Dravid topped the international runs chart for 2003/04 cricket season across formats aggregating 1993 runs from 31 matches at an average of 64.29 including three double hundreds. First of those came against New Zealand in the first of the two-test home series at Ahmedabad. Dravid scored 222 runs in the first innings and 73 runs in the second innings receiving a man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid captained Indian Test Team for the first time in the second game of the series at Mohali in the absence of Ganguly. Both the matches ended in a draw. Dravid top scored in the series with 313 runs at an average of 78.25. India next participated in TVS cup alongside New Zealand and Australia. India lost to Australia in the Final. Dravid scored two fifties in the series but the highlight was his fifty against New Zealand in the ninth match that came in just 22 balls – second fastest fifty by an Indian.
An Eden encore
After earning a draw in the first of the four-match Test series in Australia, Indians found themselves reeling at 85/4 in the Second Test at Adelaide after Australia had piled 556 runs in the first innings when Laxman joined Dravid in the middle. They batted for 93.5 overs bringing about their second 300-run partnership adding 303 runs together before Laxman perished for 148 runs. However, Dravid continued to complete his second double hundred of the season. He was the last man out for 233 runs as India conceded a marginal first innings lead of 33 runs to Australia. India bowled Australia out for paltry score of 196 riding on Agarkar's six-wicket haul, and were set a target of 230 runs to win the match. Dravid helped India tread through a tricky chase with an unbeaten fifty as India registered their first test victory in Australia since 1980/81 to go up 1–0 in the series. This was the first time that Australians were 0-1 down in a home series since 1994. Dravid won the man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid registered a score of ninety each in the next two tests as Australia leveled the series 1–1. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 619 runs at an average of 123.80 and was awarded player of the series for his efforts.
Dravid did moderately well in the ensuing VB series with three fifties in the league stage, all of which came in winning cause. However, India lost the best-of-three finals to Australia 2–0. Dravid was fined half his match fee for applying cough lozenge on the ball during a match in the series against Zimbabwe – an act that was claimed to be an innocent mistake by coach John Wright.
India visited Pakistan in March 2004 to participate in a bilateral Test series for the first time since 1989/90. Prior to the Test series, India participated and won the 5-match ODI series 3–2. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 73.59. Dravid scored 99 runs in the First ODI helping India post an imposing total of 349. He also took the important catch of threatening Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting on 122, as India went on to win the match by five runs. When Indians were trailing in the series 1–2, Dravid helped India level the series with an unbeaten fifty during a successful chase in the Fourth ODI.
Captaincy
Dravid captained India in the first two tests in the absence of injured Ganguly and led India to their first-ever Test victory in Pakistan. Dravid, standing in only his second test as team's captain, took a bold and controversial decision during First Test at Multan that divided the cricket fraternity. Pakistani cricketers had been on field for 150+ overs as India posted a total in excess of 600 runs in the first innings. Dravid, who wanted to have a crack at the tired Pakistani batsmen in the final hour of second day's play, declared Indian innings with Tendulkar batting at 194, just six runs short of his double century. While some praised the team before personal milestones approach of the Indian captain, most criticized Dravid's timing of declaration as there were no pressing concerns and there was ample time left in the match to try and bowl Pakistan out twice. While Tendulkar was admittedly disappointed, any rumours of rift between him and Dravid were quashed by both the cricketers and the team management, who claimed that the matter had been discussed and sorted amicably behind closed doors. India eventually went on to win the match by innings margin. Pakistan leveled the series beating India in the Second Test. Dravid slammed a double hundred in the Third Test at Rawalpindi – his third double hundred of the season. He scored 270 runs – his career best performance – before getting out to reverse sweep trying to force the pace. India went on to win the match and the series – their first series victory outside India since 1993. Dravid was adjudged man of the match for his effort.
Dravid was appointed the captain for the Indian team for 2007 World Cup, where India had an unsuccessful campaign.
During India's unsuccessful tour of England in 2011, in which their 4–0 loss cost them the top rank in Test cricket, Dravid made three centuries.
2011 Tour of England
Having regained his form on the tour to West Indies, where he scored a match-winning hundred in Sabina park, Jamaica, Dravid then toured England in what was billed as the series which would decide the World No. 1 ranking in tests.
In the first test at Lord's, in reply to England's 474, Dravid scored an unbeaten 103, his first hundred at the ground where he debuted in 1996. He received scant support from his teammates as India were bowled out for 286 and lost the test. The 2nd test at Trentbridge, Nottingham again saw Dravid in brilliant form. Sent out to open the batting in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir, he scored his second successive hundred. His 117 though, again came in a losing cause, as a collapse of 6 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings led to a massive defeat by 319 runs. Dravid failed in both innings in the third test at Birmingham, as India lost by an innings and 242 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their history. However, he came back brilliantly in the fourth and final match at The Oval. Again opening the batting in place of Gambhir, he scored an unbeaten 146 out of India's total of 300, carrying his bat through the innings. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as India lost the match, completing a 0–4 whitewash.
In all, he scored 461 runs in the four matches at an average of 76.83 with three hundreds. He accounted for over 26% of India's runs in the series and was named India's man of the series by England coach Andy Flower. His performance in the series was met with widespread admiration and was hailed by some as one of his finest ever series
Retirement
Rahul Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 2009, but was selected again for an ODI series in England in 2011, surprising even Dravid himself since, although he had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he had not expected to be recalled. After being selected, he announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the series. He played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 16 September 2011, scoring 69 runs from 79 balls before being bowled by Graeme Swann. His last limited-overs international match was his debut T20I match; he announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.
Dravid announced his retirement from Test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, after the 2011–12 tour of Australia, but he said that he would captain the Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.
In July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.
Coaching
Towards the end of his playing career, Dravid took on a role as mentor of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, officially taking over in 2014. During this time, he also became involved with the Indian national team, serving as mentor for the team's tour of England in 2014. After leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the 2015 IPL season, he was appointed as the head coach of the India U-19 and India A teams. Dravid achieved immense success as coach, with the U-19s reaching the finals of the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Two years later, the team went on to win the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, beating Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup, the most by any national side. Dravid was credited with bringing up future national team players including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Alongside his coaching roles, Dravid took on several mentor roles, including at the Delhi Daredevils IPL team.
In July 2019, following his four-year stint as coach of the junior teams, Dravid was appointed Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He was in charge of "overseeing all cricket related activities at NCA was involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA". As head of NCA, he was widely praised for developing a steady supply of talent to the senior team and revamping player fitness and rehabilitation regiments.
In November 2021, he was appointed as head coach of the Indian national cricket team.
County stint
Dravid had always been keen on further honing his batting skills in testing English conditions by playing in county cricket. He had discussed about the prospects regarding the same with John Wright, the former New Zealand cricketer and incumbent Kent coach, during India's 1998–99 tour of New Zealand. Wright was particularly impressed with Dravid's performance on that tour, especially his twin hundreds at Hamilton. The talks finally materialized and Dravid made his county debut for Kent in April 2000. His co-debutante Ganguly made his county debuted in the same match, albeit for the opposite team.
Kent offer had come as a welcome change for Dravid. There was too much negativity surrounding Indian cricket marred by match fixing controversy. Dravid himself had been struggling to score runs in Tests for quite some time now. The county stint gave him a chance to "get away to a new environment" and "relax". The wide variety of pitches and weather conditions in England and a full season of intense county cricket against professional cricketers gave him a chance to further his cricketing education and learn things about his game.
Dravid made the most of this opportunity. In his 2nd game for Kent, Dravid scored a fluid 182 propelling them to an innings and 163 runs victory over the touring Zimbabwe side. Out of 7 first class tour games that Zimbabwe played on that tour, Kent was the only team that managed to beat them. Dravid hit another fifty in a draw against Surrey. The newly appointed vice-captain had to leave the county championship temporarily, missing two championship games and two one day games, to fulfill his national commitment. Indian team, Dravid included, fared poorly in the Asia cup and failed to qualify for the Final. Subsequently, Dravid returned to England to resume his county sojourn with Kent.
In July 2000, Kent's away match against Hampshire at Portsmouth was billed as a showdown between two great cricketers- Warne and Dravid. Dravid came out on top. On a dustbowl, tailor-made to suit home team spinners, Warne took 4 wickets but could not take the all important wicket of Dravid. Coming in to bat at 15/2, Dravid faced 295 balls scoring 137 runs – his maiden hundred in county championships. Dravid scored 73 not out in the 2nd innings guiding Kent to a six wicket victory as Warne went wicketless.
In their last county game of the season, Kent needed one bonus point to prevent themselves from being relegated to the Second Division. Dravid made sure they stay put in the First Division by fetching that one bonus point with an inning of 77 runs.
Dravid concluded a successful stint with Kent aggregating 1221 runs from 16 first class matches(15 county games and 1 tour game against Zimbabwe) at an average of 55.50 including 2 hundreds and 8 fifties. He shouldered Kent's batting single-handedly as the second best Kent batsman during the same period, Paul Nixon, scored just 567 runs at an average of 33.35 in 17 matches. Dravid contributed to Kent's county campaign not just with the bat but also with his fielding and bowling taking 14 catches and 4 wickets at an average of 32.00.
Indian Premier League and Champions League
Rahul Dravid played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2008, 2009 and 2010. Later he played for Rajasthan Royals and led it to finals of Champions League T20 in 2013, and play-offs of Indian Premier League in 2013. Dravid announced retirement from Twenty20 after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 in September–October 2013.
Playing style
Dravid was known for his technique, and has been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team. In the beginning, he was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However, he later scored consistently in ODIs as well, earning him the ICC Player of the Year award. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements is now used as his nickname. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket, with an average of 52.31; this included five double centuries. In one-dayers, he averaged 39.16, with a strike rate of 71.23. He is one of the few Indians whose Test average is better at away than at home, averaging almost five runs more on foreign pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's Test average in abroad is 55.53, and his Test average at home is 50.76; his ODI average abroad is 37.93 and his ODI average at home is 43.11. Dravid averages 66.34 runs in Indian Test victories. and 50.69 runs in ODIs.
Dravid's sole Test wicket was of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test match against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs.
Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is a world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings played since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively.
He was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman, Dravid scored 50 runs not out in 22 balls (a strike rate of 227.27) against New Zealand in Hyderabad on 15 November 2003, the second fastest 50 among Indian batsmen. Only Ajit Agarkar's 67 runs off 21 balls is faster than that of Dravid.
In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year award by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
After reaching 10,000 Test runs milestone, he said, "It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."
Dravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is the fourth highest run scorer in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis.
Controversies
Ball-tampering incident
In January 2004, Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence, although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his match fee.
Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident".
Captaincy
Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests.
One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs not out with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. In this test match Sehwag scored triple century first time. He became the first Indian to score triple century in test with a score of 309.
In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling it to draw the series 1–1. The defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch, which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings.
After India failed to qualify for the final of the DLF Cup, Dravid, the skipper, was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.
He was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after his then IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh out of the eight teams that participated in the 2008 season.
Achievements and awards
National honours
1998 – Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in cricket
2004 – Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian award
2013 – Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award
Other honours
1999 – CEAT International Cricketer of the World Cup
2000 – Dravid was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
2004 – ICC Cricketer of the year – Highest award in the ICC listings
2004 – ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year
2004 – MTV Youth Icon of the Year
2006 – Captain of the ICC's Test Team
2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Dev Anand
2012 – Don Bradman Award with Glenn McGrath
2015 – Wisden India's Highest Impact Test Batsman
2018 – ICC Hall of Fame
Personal life
Family
On 4 May 2003 he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. Vijeta Pendharkar is also from Deshastha Brahmin community as Dravid. They have two children: Samit, born in 2005, and Anvay, born in 2009. Dravid is fluent in Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and English.
Commercial endorsements
Rahul Dravid has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Reebok (1996 – present), Pepsi (1997 present), Kissan (Unknown), Castrol (2001 – present), Hutch
(2003), Karnataka Tourism (2004), Max Life (2005 – present), Bank of Baroda (2005 – present), Citizen (2006 – present), Skyline Construction (2006 – present), Sansui (2007), Gillette (2007 – present), Samsung (2002 – 2004), World Trade Center Noida (2013– present),
CRED (2021-present).
Social commitments
Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)
UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign
Biographies
Books
Two biographies have been written on Rahul Dravid and his career:
Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004
The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005
A collection of articles, testimonials and interviews related to Dravid was released by ESPNcricinfo following his retirement. The book was titled Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel.
See also
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman
Virendra Sehwag
References
External links
Indian cricketers
India Test cricketers
India One Day International cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
India Test cricket captains
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Karnataka cricketers
South Zone cricketers
Kent cricketers
Scotland cricketers
ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers
ICC World XI One Day International cricketers
World XI Test cricketers
Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers
Canterbury cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Rajasthan Royals cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
1973 births
Living people
Cricketers from Indore
Cricketers from Bangalore
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year
Marathi people
Indian cricket coaches
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports
Indian cricket commentators
Wicket-keepers | false | [
"Kannur Lokesh Rahul (born 18 April 1992) is an Indian international cricketer. He is the current vice-captain of the India national cricket team in limited-over formats. He plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket. He is the current captain of Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League. He is a right-handed batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper.\n\nRahul made his international debut in 2014 and scored his maiden Test century in his second Test match. He was the first Indian to score a century on One Day International debut, and the third Indian to score a century in all three formats of international cricket.\n\nEarly life\nKL Rahul was born on 18 April 1992 to KN Lokesh and Rajeshwari in Bangalore. His father Lokesh, who was born in Kananur, Magadi taluk, is a professor and former director at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) in Mangalore. His mother Rajeshwari is a professor at Mangalore University. Lokesh, who was a fan of the cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, wanted to name his son after Gavaskar's, but mistook Rohan Gavaskar's name as Rahul.\n\nRahul grew up in Mangalore, completing his high school at NITK English Medium School and pre-university at St. Aloysius College. He started cricket training at the age of 10, and, two years later, started playing matches for both Bangalore United Cricket Club and his club in Mangalore. At age 18 he moved to Bangalore to study at Jain University and pursue his cricket career.\n\nPlaying Style\nRahul is a Right-handed batsman who can occasionally do wicket-keeping as well. He is a flexible batsman. He opens the batting in T20Is and Tests and currently plays in middle order for India in ODIs. A tall, elegant right-hand batsman who can keep wicket in a crisis, KL Rahul is among the most highly rated opening batsmen in India's next generation.He is naturally an aggressive batsman who can switch the gears according to the situation.\n\nBrian Lara heaped praise for KL Rahul, when he was asked to name the current batsman who he loves to watch:\n\nDomestic career\nRahul made his first-class cricket debut for Karnataka in the 2010–11 season. In the same season he represented his country at the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, scoring a total of 143 runs in the competition. He made his debut in the Indian Premier League in 2013, for Royal Challengers Bangalore. During the 2013–14 domestic season he scored 1,033 first-class runs, the second highest scorer that season.\n\nPlaying for South Zone in the final of the 2014–15 Duleep Trophy against Central Zone, Rahul scored 185 off 233 balls in the first innings and 130 off 152 in the second. He was named the player of the match and selection to the Indian Test squad for the Australian tour followed.\n\nReturning home after the Test series, Rahul became Karnataka's first triple-centurion, scoring 337 against Uttar Pradesh. He went on to score 188 in the 2014–15 Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu and finished the season with an average of 93.11 in the nine matches he played.\n\nInternational career\n\nTest Debut and Start of Test Career\nRahul made his Test debut in the 2014 Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He replaced Rohit Sharma and was presented with his Test cap by MS Dhoni. He batted at number six and made three runs in the first innings; in the second innings, he played at number 3 and made only 1 run but retained his place for the next Test at Sydney where he opened the innings with Murali Vijay and made 110 runs, his maiden international hundred.\n\nHe was part of the 15-man squad for the Indian tour of Bangladesh in June 2015 but withdrew due to Dengue fever. He returned to the side for the first Test of the Sri Lankan tour after Murali Vijay was ruled out due to injury, scoring his second Test century and winning the Man of the Match award. During the match, he kept the wickets after Wriddhiman Saha was injured.\n\nODI and T20I debut\nRahul was named in the squad to tour Zimbabwe in 2016 and made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club and scored unbeaten 100*(115) on debut. Thus, he became the first Indian cricketer to score a century on ODI debut. He was adjudged the man of the series on his debut ODI. series He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut as well later in the same tour.\n\nRise through the ranks\nHe was picked in the Indian squad for the four-test tour against West Indies in 2016. Rahul played in the second Test at Jamaica and scored a strokeful 158, his highest Test score then. In the process, he became the first Indian opener to score a century in his debut Test in the West Indies. In the first match of the T20I series in the United States, he scored \nan unbeaten century 110* off 51 balls in a losing cause, which was the second-fastest century(46 balls) ever and fastest by an Indian. He also set the world record for being the only player to score hundred in first innings as opener in both Tests and ODIs.\n\nLokesh Rahul set the record for the fastest batsman to have scored centuries in all three formats in just 20 innings surpassing the record of Ahmed Shehzad who took 76 innings. He is the first player in T20I history to score a century (110*) while batting at number 4 position or lower. On 3 July 2018, Rahul smashed his second T20 International ton against England. He is also the first Indian batsman to be dismissed hit- wicket in T20Is.\n\nControversy and suspension\nOn 11 January 2019, Hardik Pandya and K. L. Rahul were suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following controversial comments they made on the Indian talk show Koffee with Karan earlier in the month. They were both sent home ahead of the ODI series against Australia and the fixtures of India's tour to New Zealand. On 24 January 2019, after lifting the suspension on Pandya and Rahul, the BCCI announced that Rahul would re-join the squad for India A matches.\n\nPlaying for the first time at the World Cup\nIn April 2019, he was named in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He played at number 4 in the first 2 games but got back to opening the innings alongside Rohit Sharma as Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to injury. In the first match as opener in the world cup against Pakistan, Rahul scored 57 and put up 136 run opening stand alongside Rohit Sharma. In the last league game against Sri Lanka, KL scored 112 runs which was his maiden hundred for India in the World Cup. \n\nOverall, KL scored 361 runs with 2 fifties and 1 hundred in the tournament and finished as India's third highest run scorer in the tournament after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.\n\nConsistency in limited over formats and dip in form in Tests\nDue to lack of form in the Test format, Rahul was dropped from the Test squad for the Home tests against South Africa. However, he rose through the ranks in the limited over formats. \n\nIn December 2019, in the first T20I match against the West Indies, Rahul scored his 1,000th run in T20I cricket. He scored 62(40) in the first T20I against West Indies. He scored 91(56) in the third T20I for which he was adjudged the Man of the match. He scored his 3rd ODi century in the 2nd ODI against West Indies. In the 2 match T20i series against Srilanka, KL scored 45 in the first match and 54 in the second T20I. He continued his good form ahead. \n\nIn January 2020, Rahul made 80(52) batting at number five in the second ODI against Australia and was rewarded as the man of the match. \n\nIn India tour of New Zealand 2020, Rahul was declared man of the series in the five-match t20i series for scoring 224 runs at an average of 56. In the ODI series against New Zealand, he scored 88*(64) in the first ODI and scored his fourth ton in ODIs, 112(113) in the third ODI.\n\nAustralia Tour and Home matches against England\nIn October 2020, Rahul was named as India's vice captain for the ODI and T20I series against Australia. Rahul had a moderate ODI and T20I series against Australia. He made 77 against Australia in the second ODI and 51 in the first T20I. India lost the ODI series 2–1, but won the T20I series by the same margin.\n\nRahul was included in the test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but was not picked in the playing XI for the first two Tests. He injured himself during practice and was ruled out of the remaining part of the tour.\n\nAs a result, he also missed the home Test series against England in February 2021. He returned to the national side for the T20I and ODI series against England. There was a dip in his form in the T20I series. He returned to form in the ODI series scoring a match-winning 62* and was involved in a 100-run partnership with debutant Krunal Pandya who scored a fifty. He continued his form by scoring 108 runs in the second ODI and was involved in another 100-run partnership with Rishabh Pant.\n\nComeback in Test Format\nRahul was named in India's test squad for their tour of England in 2021. As Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal were injured, KL Rahul returned to test cricket and opened alongside teammate Rohit Sharma.In the first test at Nottingham, Rahul scored 84 and 26. He went on to score a ton i.e., 129 (250) at Lords and was awarded as the man of the match in the second test. Rahul scored 315 runs in eight innings of four matches played and was the second highest run scorer for India in the tour with Rohit Sharma being the highest run scorer for the team.\n\nT20I World cup 2021\nIn September 2021, Rahul was named in India's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. He was the highest run scorer for India (11th overall) in the whole tournament, scoring 194 runs which included three consecutive fifties. He also scored the tournament's joint fastest fifty in just 18 balls, against Scotland.\n\nPromotion to Vice captaincy\nAfter Virat Kohli stepped down as Indian T20i captain, KL was appointed the Vice-captain of Indian Cricket Team in T20i as former Vice-captain Rohit Sharma was appointed the new Captain of T20i format. Later, KL was appointed ODI's vice-captain as well due to change of captaincy in white ball format of Indian team.\n\nIn December 2021, Rahul was named as India's test vice-captain for the away series against South Africa after India's regular vice-captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the series. Rahul was also named as the ODI captain for the One Day series of the same tour as India's regular ODI captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury. In the first test match against South Africa in December 2021, he scored 123 in India's first innings and 23 in India's second innings. For this match-winning performance, he was awarded the Man of the Match award. In the second test against South Africa in January 2022, Rahul captained India for the first time in test cricket and became the 34th test captain of India. He scored a half-century on captaincy debut. Despite his best efforts, Rahul couldn't lead the team to victory and India lost the second test by seven wickets. In first ODI against South Africa, he made his debut in ODI Captaincy and became the 26th Odi captain of India, however India lost the series 3–0 to South Africa.\n\nIn February 2022, During the second ODI of India against the Windies, KL scored 49(48) and completed 6000 runs in International cricket across formats. In the same ODI, KL sustained upper left hamstring strain and was ruled out of the next ODI as well as upcoming T20Is series against the Windies.\n\nIndian Premier League\n\nRahul made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as a wicket-keeper batsman during the 2013 competition. Ahead of the 2014 IPL, he was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1 crore, before returning to RCB ahead of the 2016 IPL season. He finished the season as the 11th highest run-scorer, and RCB's third, with 397 runs from 14 matches. For his performances in the 2016 IPL season, he was named as wicket keeper in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI. Rahul missed the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury.\n\nIn the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) for INR 11 crore, the joint-third highest price. In the team's first match of the season he scored the fastest 50 in IPL history, taking 14 balls to reach the milestone and breaking the record of Sunil Narine. For his performances in the 2018 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI. After making scores of 90+ three times during 2018, he reached his maiden IPL century in 2019, scoring 100 not out from 64 against Mumbai Indians. For his performances in the 2019 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI.\n\nRahul was named captain of the Kings XI Punjab for the 2020 IPL, after former captain Ravichandran Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals.\n\nIn the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on 24 September 2020, he scored an unbeaten 132 off just 69 balls. With that century, he broke the record of the most runs scored by an Indian batsman in an IPL match. He also broke the record of the most runs scored by a captain in an IPL match.\n\nIn the IPL 2020 season, he scored 670 runs in all the 14 matches he played. He scored 5 fifties and 1 hundred with the highest score of an unbeaten 132 against RCB and also had an average of 55.83.\n\nRahul won the Orange Cap in IPL 2020 for scoring most runs in IPL 2020 (670 runs).\n\nHe was retained by the Punjab Kings ahead of the 2021 IPL season. KL scored 91(50) in their first fixture against Rajasthan Royals.KL scored match winning 60*(52) against Mumbai Indians and 91*(57) against Royal Challengers Bangalore and won Man of the Match in both the games. In the final league game of Punjab Kings, KL scored unbeaten 98*(42) against Chennai Super Kings, helping the team get the target in 13 overs to give them a slight chance to qualify, however, the team ended up at sixth position. He scored 626 runs in IPL 2021, finishing as the team's highest scorer in the season.\n\nPrior to the 2022 season, Rahul parted ways with the Punjab Kings and was drafted by Lucknow Super Giants as their captain for INR 17Cr making him the joint highest paid cricketer in Indian Premier League alongside Virat Kohli.\n\nSee also\n List of cricketers with centuries in all international formats\n List of centuries scored on One Day International cricket debut\n List of international cricket centuries at Lord's\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \nLokesh Rahul at Wisden India\n\n1992 births\nLiving people\nIndia Test cricketers\nIndia One Day International cricketers\nIndia Twenty20 International cricketers\nKarnataka cricketers\nCricketers from Mangalore\nSunrisers Hyderabad cricketers\nRoyal Challengers Bangalore cricketers\nSouth Zone cricketers\nCricketers who made a century on One Day International debut\nPunjab Kings cricketers\nCricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup\nWicket-keepers",
"Rahul Desraj Chahar (born 4 August 1999) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Rajasthan in domestic cricket and Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League. He made his international debut for India in August 2019.\n\nEarly life and personal life\nRahul was born in Hindu Jat family to Desraj Singh Chahar and Usha Chahar. His paternal uncle, Lokendra Singh Chahar is his cricket coach who trained him and his cousin Deepak Chahar together. Rahul started playing cricket at the age of 8 years after watching his elder cousin brother Deepak Chahar. He started off as a fast bowler but later realised his actual talent was in spinning the ball. His cousin brother, Deepak is also an Indian international cricketer. Rahul got engaged to his long-time girlfriend Ishani in 2019.\n\nDomestic career\nRahul made his first-class debut for Rajasthan in the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy on 5 November 2016. He made his List A debut for Rajasthan in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 25 February 2017.\n\nIn February 2017, Rahul was bought by the Rising Pune Supergiant team for the 2017 Indian Premier League for 10 lakhs. He made his Twenty20 cricket (T20) debut in the 2017 Indian Premier League on 8 April 2017. In January 2018, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians in the 2018 IPL auction.\n\nRahul was the leading wicket-taker for Rajasthan in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with twenty dismissals in nine matches. In October 2018, he was named in India C's squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy.\n\nIn August 2019, Rahul was named in the India Green team's squad for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy. In February 2022, he was bought by the Punjab Kings in the auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament.\n\nInternational career\nIn July 2019, Rahul was named for India's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the series against the West Indies. He made his T20I debut against the West Indies on 6 August 2019. In January 2021, he was named as one of five standby players in India's Test squad for their series against England. The following month, he was added to India's squad ahead of the first Test.\n\nIn June 2021, Rahul was named in India's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against Sri Lanka. He made his ODI debut on 23 July 2021, for India against Sri Lanka. In September 2021, Chahar was named in India's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1999 births\nLiving people\nIndian cricketers\nIndia One Day International cricketers\nIndia Twenty20 International cricketers\nRajasthan cricketers\nRising Pune Supergiant cricketers\nMumbai Indians cricketers"
]
|
[
"Rahul Dravid",
"Golden years",
"At what age did Rahul begin playing cricket?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_ae935d6d2cbd4989b9af39d2c8b4f36c_1 | How many games did Dravid help lead his team to victory? | 2 | How many games did Rahul Dravid help lead his team to victory? | Rahul Dravid | As the new international season commenced, the first and foremost challenge for the newly appointed captain and vice-captain, Ganguly and Dravid, was to pull the team out of the shadows of the match fixing scandal. Indian team played 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy with vigour and showed a lot of character beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid played his part scoring 157 runs in 4 matches at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid played the first two matches of 2000-01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy and scored 85 runs in the 2nd match against Zimbabwe opening the innings before getting injured while fielding at slips forcing him to miss the rest of the tournament. India started off the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk inning of 49 ball 41 runs, including 5 fours and a six, chasing a target of 63 runs. However, Dravid's poor patch truly ended in the next Test series against Zimbabwe, which was also the first series for John Wright as the new Indian coach. Wright was instrumental in Dravid's association with Kent earlier this year. Dravid returned the favour by recommending his name to the BCCI for the post of national team coach. By now, Dravid had played 8 Tests since his last hundred against New Zealand at Mohali scoring just 350 runs at a paltry average of 23.33 without a single fifty plus inning. The Indian vice-captain ended the run drought and welcomed the new Indian coach with a double hundred - Dravid's first. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second inning guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 - highest batting average by an Indian in a Test series. Dravid scored just a solitary fifty in the second of the five match bilateral ODI series between India and Zimbabwe. However, the series proved to be a milestone in Dravid's career. Dravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the 5th match of the series as the regular captain Ganguly had to sit out due to one match suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39 run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the under-19 team finished runners up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Known for his sound batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall.
Born in a Marathi family and raised in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.
As of December 2016, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. In 2004, after completing his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played. He has faced 31258 balls, which is the highest number of balls faced by any player in test cricket. He has also spent 44152 minutes at the crease, which is the highest time spent on crease by any player in test cricket. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are currently the highest scoring partnership in Test cricket history having scored 6920 runs combined when batting together for India.
In August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.
Rahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively.
In 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. Indian badminton player Prannoy Kumar, Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and young Golfer S. Chikkarangappa was part of the initial group of athletes to be mentored by Rahul Dravid. In July 2018, Dravid became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.
Early life
Dravid was born in a Marathi-Speaking Brahmin family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His family later moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, where he was raised. His mother tongue is Marathi. Dravid's father Sharad Dravid worked for a company that makes jams and preserves, giving rise to the later nickname Jammy. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore. Dravid has a younger brother named Vijay. He did his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore. He was selected to India's national cricket team while working towards an MBA at St Joseph's College of Business Administration. He is fluent in several languages: Marathi, Kannada, English and Hindi.
Formative years and domestic career
Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented Karnataka at the under-15, the under-17 and the under-19 levels. Former cricketer Keki Tarapore first noticed Dravid's talent while coaching at a summer camp in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dravid scored a century for his school team. He also played as wicket-keeper.
Dravid made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991, while still attending college. Playing alongside future India teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath against Maharashtra in Pune, he scored 82 runs in the match, which ended in a draw. He followed it up with a century against Bengal and three successive centuries after. However, Dravid's first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries and finished up with 380 runs at an average of 63.30, getting selected for the South Zone cricket team in the Duleep Trophy. Dravid's caught the national team selectors' eye with his good performances for India A in the home series against England A in 1994–95.
International career
Debut
Dravid, who had been knocking at the doors of Indian national cricket team for quite a while with his consistent performance in domestic cricket, received his first national call in October 1994, for the last two matches of the Wills World Series. However, he could not break into the playing eleven. He went back to the domestic circuit and kept knocking harder. So much so, that when the selectors announced the Indian team for the 1996 World Cup sans Dravid, an Indian daily newspaper carried a headline – "Rahul Dravid gets a raw deal". Dravid eventually made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the Singer Cup held in Singapore immediately after the 1996 World Cup, replacing Vinod Kambli. He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat, scoring just three runs before being dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan, but took two catches in the match. He followed it up with another failure in the next game scoring just four runs before getting run out against Pakistan.
In contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian squad touring England on the backdrop of a consistent performance in domestic cricket for five years. Fine performances in the tour games including fifties against Gloucestershire and Leicestershire failed to earn him a place in the team for the First Test. He finally made his Test debut at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series at the expense of injured senior batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar, who was suffering from an ankle injury, was to undergo a fitness test on the morning of the Second Test. Dravid had already been informed that he would play if Manjrekar fails the test. As Manjrekar failed the fitness test, ten minutes before the toss, Sandeep Patil, the then Indian coach, went up to Dravid to inform him that he was indeed going to make his debut that day. Patil recalled years later:
Coming in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships, first with another debutante Sourav Ganguly and then with Indian lower order, securing a vital first innings lead for his team. Dravid scored 95 runs before getting out to the bowling of Chris Lewis. He was just five runs short of a landmark debut hundred when he nicked a Lewis delivery to the keeper and walked even before umpire's decision. He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismiss Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Srinath. In the next tour game against British Universities, Dravid scored a hundred. He scored another fifty in the first innings of the Third Test. Dravid concluded a successful debut series with an impressive average of 62.33 from two Test matches.
1996–98: A tale of two formats
Dravid's early years in international cricket mirrored his international debut. He had contrasting fortunes in the long and the shorter format of the game. While he straightaway made a name for himself in Test cricket, he had to struggle quite a bit to make a mark in ODIs.
After a successful Test debut in England, Dravid played in the one-off Test against Australia in Delhi – his first Test in India. Batting at no. 6, he scored 40 runs in the first innings. Dravid batted at no. 3 position for the first time in the First Test of the three-match home series against South Africa in Ahmedabad in November 1996. He didn't do too well in the series scoring just 175 runs at a modest average of 29.16.
Two weeks later, India toured South Africa for a three–match Test series. Chasing a target of 395 runs in the First Test, Indian team bundled out meekly for 66 runs on the Durban pitch that provided excessive bounce and seam movement. Dravid, batting at no. 6, was the only Indian batsman who reached double figures in the innings scoring 27 not out. He was promoted to the no. 3 slot again in the second innings of the Second Test, a move that paid rich dividends in the ensuing Test. He almost won the Third Test for India with his maiden test hundred in the first innings scoring 148 runs and another 81 runs in the second innings at Wanderers before the thunderstorms, dim light and Cullinan's hundred saved the day for South Africa enabling them to draw the match. Dravid's performance in this Test earned him his first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. He top scored for India in the series with 277 runs at an average of 55.40.
Dravid continued in the same vein in the West Indies where he once again top scored for India in the five–match Test series aggregating 360 runs at an average of 72.00 including four fifties. 92 runs scored in the first innings of the fifth match in Georgetown earned him a joint Man of the Match award along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With this series, Dravid concluded a successful 1996/97 Test season, topping the international runs chart with 852 runs from 12 matches at an average of 50.11 with six fifties and one hundred.
Dravid continued his good run scoring seven fifties in the next eight Tests that included fifties in six consecutive innings (three each against Sri Lanka and Australia), becoming only the second Indian to do so after Gundappa Vishwanath. By the end of 1997/98 Test season, he had scored 15 fifties in 22 Tests which included four scores of nineties but just a solitary hundred.
The century drought came to an end in the 1998/99 Test season when he further raised the bar of his performance scoring 752 runs in seven Tests at an average of 62.66 that included four hundreds and one fifty and in the process topping the runs chart for India for the season. The first of those four hundreds came on the Zimbabwe tour. Dravid top scored in both the innings against Zimbabwe scoring 118 and 44 runs respectively however, India lost the one-off Test.
The Zimbabwe tour was followed by a tour to New Zealand. First Test having been abandoned without a ball being bowled, the series started for Dravid with the first duck of his Test career in the first innings of the Second Test and ended with hundreds in both the innings of the Third Test in Hamilton. He scored 190 and 103 not out in the first and the second innings respectively, becoming only the third Indian batsman, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to score a century in both innings of a Test match. Dravid topped the runs table for the series with 321 runs from two matches at an average of 107.00 but could not prevent India from losing the series 0–1.
Later that month, India played a two Test home series against Pakistan. Dravid didn't contribute much with the bat. India lost the First Test but won the Second Test in Delhi riding on Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul. Dravid played his part in the 10-wicket haul by taking a catch to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed who was Kumble's eighth victim of the innings. The Indo-Pak Test series was followed by the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship. Dravid couldn't do much with the bat as India went on to lose the riot-affected First Test of the championship against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. India went to Sri Lanka to play the Second Test of the championship. Dravid scored his fourth hundred of the season at Colombo in the first innings of the match. He also effected a brilliant run out of Russel Arnold during Sri Lankan innings fielding at short leg. On the fourth morning, Dravid got injured while fielding at the same position when the ball from Jayawardene's pull shot hit his face through the helmet grill. He didn't come out to bat in the second innings due to the injury. The match ended in a draw as India failed to qualify for the Finals of the championship.
In a stark contrast to his Test career, Dravid had to struggle a lot to make a mark in the ODIs. Between his ODI debut in April 1996 and the end of 1998 calendar year, Dravid regularly found himself in and out of the ODI team.
Dravid tasted first success of his ODI career in the 1996 'Friendship' Cup against Pakistan in the tough conditions of Toronto. He emerged as the highest scorer of the series with 220 runs in five matches at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of 68.53. He won his first ODI Man of the Match award for the 46 runs scored in the low scoring third game of the series. He top scored for India in the Standard Bank International One-Day Series 1996/97 in South Africa with 280 runs from eight games at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 60.73, the highlight being a Man of the Match award-winning performance (84 runs, one catch) in the Final of the series that came in a losing cause. He was the second highest run scorer for India in the four-match bilateral ODI series in the West Indies in 1996/97 with 121 runs at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 57.61. Dravid's maiden ODI hundred came in a losing cause in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup against Pakistan in Chennai. Dravid top scored for India in the quadrangular event with 189 runs from three games at an average of 94.50 and a strike rate of 75.60 however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the series.
However, Dravid's achievements in the ODIs were dwarfed by his failures in the shorter format of the game. 14 runs from two games in the 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup; 20 runs from two innings in the Singer World Series; 65 runs from four innings in the 1997 'Friendship' Cup; 88 runs from four games in the 1998 Coca-Cola Triangular Series including a 22-ball five runs and a 21-ball one run innings, both coming against Bangladesh; 32 runs from four games in the 1998 'Friendship' Cup; a slew of such poor performances often forced him to the sidelines of the India ODI squad. By the end of 1998, Dravid had scored 1709 runs in 65 ODIs at a humble average of 31.64 with a poor strike rate of 63.48.
By now, Dravid had been branded as a Test specialist. While he continued to score heavily in Test cricket, his poor strike rate in ODIs came under scanner. He drew criticism for not being able to adjust his style of play to the needs of ODI cricket, his lack of attacking capability and play big strokes. However, Dravid worked hard and re-tooled his game by increasing his range of strokes and adapting his batting style to suit the requirements of ODI cricket. He learned to pace his innings cleverly without going for the slogs.
Dravid's ODI renaissance began during the 1998/99 New Zealand tour. He scored a run-a-ball hundred in the first match of the bilateral ODI series that earned him his third Man of the Match award in ODIs. The hundred came in a losing cause. However, his effort of 51 runs from 71 balls in the Fourth ODI came in India's victory and earned him his second Man of the Match award of the series. He ended as the top scorer of the series with 309 runs from five games at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 84.65. Dravid scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in 1998/99 Pepsi Cup at Nagpur adding a record 236 runs for the 2nd wicket with Ganguly, who also scored a hundred in the match. Uncharacteristically, Dravid was the faster of the two scoring 116 of 118 deliveries. In the next match against Pakistan, he bowled four overs and took the wicket of Saeed Anwar, out caught behind by wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. This was his first wicket in international cricket.
Dravid warmed up for his debut World Cup with two fifties in the 1998–99 Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah, one each against England and Pakistan. Standing-in as the substitute wicket-keeper in the third match of the series for Nayan Mongia, who got injured during keeping, Dravid effected two dismissals. He first stumped Graeme Hick off Sunil Joshi's bowling, who became Dravid's first victim as a wicket-keeper, and then caught Neil Fairbrother off Ajay Jadeja's bowling. He top scored for India in the tournament, though his last ODI innings before the World Cup was a golden duck against Pakistan, in the Final of the series.
Debut World Cup success
Dravid announced his form in England hitting consecutive fifties against Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the warm-up games.
He made his World Cup debut against South Africa at Hove striking a half century, but scored just 13 in the next game against Zimbabwe. India lost both the games. Having lost the first two games, India needed to win the remaining three games of the first round to have any chance of advancing into the Super Six stage. Dravid put up a partnership of 237 runs with Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol – a World Cup record – and in the process hit his maiden World Cup hundred, helping India to a 94-run victory. India's designated keeper Mongia left the field at the end of 9th over during Kenyan innings, forcing Dravid to keep the wickets for the rest of the innings. In the absence of injured Nayan Mongia, Dravid played his first ODI as a designated keeper against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Dravid once again staged a record breaking partnership worth 318 runs – the first ever three hundred run partnership in ODI history – but this time with Sourav Ganguly, guiding India to a 157-run win. Dravid scored 145 runs from 129 balls with 17 fours and a six, becoming the second batsman in World Cup history to hit back-to-back hundreds. Dravid struck a fine fifty in the last group match as India defeated England to advance into the Super Six stage. Dravid scored 2, 61 & 29 in the three Super Six matches against Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand respectively. India failed to qualify for the semi-finals having lost to Australia and New Zealand but achieved a consolation victory against Pakistan in a tense game, what with the military conflict going on between the two countries in Kashmir at the same time. Dravid emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 461 runs from 8 games at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate of 85.52.
Dravid's post-World Cup campaign started on a poor note with just 40 runs coming in 4 games of Aiwa Cup in August 1999. He soon came into his own, top-scoring for India in two consecutive limited-overs series – the Singapore Challenge, the highlight being a hundred in the Final coming in a lost cause, and the DMC Cup, the highlight being a match winning effort (77 runs, 4 catches) in the series decider for which he received man-of-the-match award. Dravid topped the international runs chart for 1999 cricket season across all formats scoring 782 runs from 19 matches. By now, Dravid had started to keep wickets on an infrequent basis with India fielding him as designated wicket-keeper in five out of 10 ODIs played in the three events.
Dravid kick-started his post World Cup Test season with a decent outing against New Zealand in the 3-match home series. His best effort of the series came in the second innings of the First test at Mohali scoring 144, helping India salvage a draw after being bowled out for 83 runs in the First innings. This was Dravid's sixth test hundred but his first test hundred on Indian soil. Dravid did well in the 3–2 series win against New Zealand in the bilateral ODI series, scoring 240 runs in 5 games at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 83.62, ending as the second highest scorer in the series. His career best effort in ODIs came in this series in the second game at Hyderabad where he scored run-a-ball 153 runs which included 15 fours and two sixes. He featured in a 331-run partnership with Tendulkar, which was the highest partnership in ODI cricket history, a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken in 2015. In 1999, Dravid scored 1761 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 46.34 and a strike rate of 75.16 including 6 hundreds and 8 fifties and featured in two 300+ partnerships.
India toured Australia in December 1999 for a 3-match test series and a triangular ODI tournament. Although Dravid scored a hundred against Tasmania in the practice match, he failed miserably with the bat in the Test series as India slumped to a 0–3 whitewash. He did reasonably well in the 1999–2000 Carlton & United Series scoring 3 fifties in the triangular event however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the tournament.
Dravid's poor form in Tests continued as India suffered a 0–2 whitewash against South Africa in a home series. He had moderate success in the bilateral ODI series against South Africa. He contributed to India's 3–2 series win with 208 runs at an average of 41.60 which included 2 fifties and three wickets at an average of 22.66 topping the bowling average chart for the series. His career best bowling figure of 2/43 from nine overs in the First ODI at Kochi, was also the best bowling figure by any bowler in that particular match.
Rise through the ranks
In February 2000, Tendulkar's resignation from captaincy led to the promotion of Ganguly, the vice-captain then, as the new captain of the Indian team. In May 2000, while Dravid was busy playing county cricket in England, he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team announced for the Asia cup.
India did well in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. Indian team, coming out of the shadows of the infamous match fixing scandal, showed a lot of character under the new leadership of Ganguly and Dravid, beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid scored 157 runs in 4 matches of the tournament, at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid scored 85 runs in a match against Zimbabwe in the 2000–01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy while opening the innings but was forced to miss the rest of the tournament because of an injury.
India kick started the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk knock of 41 runs from 49 balls, including 5 fours and a six, while chasing a target of 63 runs. The ensuing test series against Zimbabwe was John Wright's first assignment as Indian coach. Dravid, who was instrumental in Wright's appointment as India's first foreign head coach, welcomed him with his maiden double hundred. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second, guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 – highest batting average by an Indian in a series across all formats.
Dravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the fifth match of the bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe in the absence of Ganguly who was serving suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39-run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain.
History at Eden
The Australian team toured India in February 2001 for what was being billed as the Final Frontier for Steve Waugh's all conquering men, who were coming on the back of 15 consecutive Test wins. Dravid failed in the first innings of the First Test but displayed strong resilience in Tendulkar's company in the second innings. Dravid's 196 ball long resistance finally ended when he got out bowled to Warne for 39 runs. Australians extended their winning streak to 16 Tests as they beat India convincingly by 10 wickets inside three days.
The Australian juggernaut seemed unstoppable as they looked on course towards their 17th consecutive victory in the Second Test at the Eden Gardens, when they bowled India out for meagre 171 in the first innings and enforced a follow-on after securing a massive lead of 274 runs. In the second innings, Laxman, who had scored a fine fifty in the first innings, was promoted to no. 3 position which had been Dravid's usual spot for quite sometime now, while Dravid, who had gotten out bowled to Warne for second time in a row in the first innings for just 25 runs, was relegated to no. 6 position. When Dravid joined Laxman in the middle on the third day of the Test, with scoreboard reading 232/4 and India still needing 42 runs to avoid an innings defeat, another convincing win for Australia looked inevitable. Instead, two of them staged one of the greatest fightbacks in cricketing history.
Dravid and Laxman played out the remaining time on the third day and whole of the fourth day, denying Australia any wicket on Day 4. Dravid, angered by the flak that the Indian team had been receiving lately in the media coverage, celebrated his hundred in an uncharacteristic fashion brandishing his bat at the press box. Eventually, Laxman got out on the fifth morning bringing the 376-runs partnership to an end. Dravid soon perished getting run out for 180 while trying to force the pace. Ganguly declared the innings at 657/7, setting Australia a target of 384 runs with 75 overs left in the match. An inspired team India bowled superbly to dismiss Australia for 212 in 68.3 overs. India won the match by 171 runs. This was only the third instance of a team winning a Test after following-on and India became the 2nd team to do so.
Dravid scored 81 runs in the first innings of the Third Test and took 4 catches in the match as India defeated Australia at Chennai in a nail biting finish to clinch the series 2–1. Dravid scored 80 in the first of the 5-match ODI series at his home ground as India won the match by 60 runs. He didn't do too well in the remaining 4 ODIs as Australia won the series 3–2. Dravid topped the averages for the 2000/01 Test season with 839 runs from six matches at an average of 104.87.
Dravid had a decent outing in Zimbabwe, scoring 137 runs from 134 balls in the First Tour game and aggregating 138 runs at an average of 69.00 from the drawn Test series. In the ensuing triangular ODI series, he aggregated 121 runs from 5 matches at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 101.68, the highlight being an unbeaten 72 off 64 balls, while chasing a target of 235 against Zimbabwe in the 3rd match of the series, guiding India to a 4-wicket win with four balls to spare. He was adjudged man of the match for his match winning knock.
On the next tour to Sri Lanka, India lost the first three matches of the triangular event. In the absence of suspended Ganguly, Dravid captained the side in the 4th match leading them to their first victory of the series. India won the next two matches to qualify for the Final. Dravid played crucial innings in all the three victories. Eventually, India lost the Final to Sri Lanka. He top scored for India in the series with 259 runs from seven matches at an average of 51.80 and a strike rate of 59.81. Reinstated to his usual no. 3 position in the absence of injured Laxman, Dravid top scored for India in the ensuing 3-Test series as well with 235 runs at an average of 47.00. The highlight for Dravid was 75 runs scored in the tough fourth innings chase of the Second Test – a crucial contribution to India's first Test win in Sri Lanka since 1993 despite the absence of key players like Tendulkar, Laxman, Srinath and Kumble.
Dravid had decent success in Standard Bank tri-series on South Africa tour, scoring 214 runs (including 3 fifties) at an average of 53.50 and a strike rate of 71.81. He also kept wickets in the final two ODIs of the series effecting 3 stumpings. The highlight for Dravid in the ensuing Test series came in the second innings of the Second Test. India, having failed to last hundred overs in any of the previous three innings in the series, needed to bat out four sessions in the Second Test to save the match. They started on a poor note losing their first wicket in the first over with no runs on the scoreboard. However, Dravid forged an important partnership of 171 runs with Dasgupta that lasted for 83.2 overs taking India to the brink of safety. Poor weather helped India salvage a draw as only 96.2 overs could be bowled in the innings. Dravid captained the team in the 'unofficial' Third test in the absence of injured Ganguly, which India lost by an innings margin.
By the end of the South African tour, Dravid had started experiencing problem in his right shoulder. Although he played the ensuing home test series against England, he pulled out of the six-match bilateral ODI series to undergo shoulder rehabilitation program in South Africa. He returned for the Zimbabwe's tour of India but performed below par, scoring a fifty each in the Test series and the bilateral ODI series.
2002–2006: Peak years
Dravid hit the peak form of his career in 2002. Between Season 2002 and Season 2006, Dravid was the second highest scorer overall and top scorer for India across formats, scoring 8,914 runs from 174 matches at an average of 54.02, including 19 hundreds.
Dravid had a decent outing in West Indies in 2002. The highlights for him included – hitting a hundred with a swollen jaw and helping India avoid the follow-on in the process at Georgetown in the drawn First Test; contributing with a fifty and four catches to India's victory in the Second Test at Port of Spain – India's first Test victory in West Indies since 1975–76; and another fifty in the drawn Fourth Test with a wicket to boot – that of Ridley Jacobs who was batting on 118. This was Dravid's only wicket in Test cricket. He played as India's designated keeper in the ODI series but didn't contribute much with the bat in the 2–1 series win.
A quartet of hundreds
India's tour of England in 2002 started with a triangular ODI event involving India, England and Sri Lanka. India emerged as the winners of the series beating England in the Final – their first victory after nine consecutive defeats in one-day finals. Dravid played as designated keeper in six out of seven matches effecting nine dismissals (6 catches, 3 stumpings) – most by a keeper in the series. He also did well with the bat aggregating 245 runs at an average of 49.00 including three fifties. His performance against Sri Lanka in fourth ODI (64 runs, 1 catch) earned him a man of the match award.
India lost the first of the four match Test series. Having conceded a 260 runs lead in the first innings of the Second Test at Nottingham, Indians were in a spot of bother. However, Dravid led the fightback in the second innings with a hundred as Indians managed to earn a draw.
Ganguly won the toss in the Third Test and took a bold decision to bat first on a gloomy overcast morning at Headingley on a pitch known to be traditionally conducive for fast and swing bowling. Having lost an early wicket, Dravid weathered the storm in company of Sanjay Bangar. They played cautiously, taking body blows on a pitch with uneven bounce. Dravid completed his second hundred of the series in the process. As the conditions became more and more conducive for batting, the Indian batsmen piled on England's misery. Indians declared the innings on 628/8 and then bowled England out twice to register their first test victory in England since 1986. Despite being outscored by Tendulkar, Dravid was awarded man of the match for his efforts. Dravid scored a double hundred in the drawn Fourth Test to notch up his second consecutive man of the match award of the series. Christopher Martin-Jenkins noted during the Fourth Test: Dravid aggregated 602 runs in the series from four matches at an average of 100.33, including three hundreds and a fifty and was adjudged joint man of the series along with Michael Vaughan.
India jointly shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Dravid contributed to India's successful campaign with 120 runs at an average of 60.00 and five dismissals behind the wicket. Dravid scored a hundred in the First Test of the three match home series against West Indies becoming the first Indian batsman to score hundreds in four consecutive Test innings but had to retire soon after owing to severe cramps. Dravid did well in the subsequent bilateral 7-match ODI series aggregating 300 runs at an average of 75.00 and a strike rate of 89.82 including one hundred and two fifties. He also effected 7 dismissals (6 catches, 1 stumping) in the series. India trailing 1–2, needed 325 runs to win the Fourth ODI and level the series. Dravid scored a hundred leading India to a successful chase. He once again scored a crucial fifty in the Sixth ODI as India once again leveled the series after trailing 2–3. India, however, lost the last match to lose the series 3–4.
Dravid top scored for India in the two-match Test series in New Zealand as India slumped to a whitewash. He played as designated keeper in six of the 7-match bilateral ODI series and effected seven dismissals but fared poorly with the bat as India were handed a 2-5 drubbing by the New Zealand.
2003 Cricket World Cup
Dravid arrived in South Africa with the Indian squad to participate in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in the capacity of first-choice keeper-batsman as part of their seven batsmen-four bowlers strategy – an experiment that had brought success to the team in the past year. The idea was that making Dravid keep wickets allowed India to accommodate an extra specialist batsman. The strategy worked out well for India in the World Cup. India recovered from a less than convincing victory against minnows Netherlands and a loss to Australia in the league stage and embarked on a dream run winning eight consecutive matches to qualify for the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1983. India eventually lost the Final to Australia ending as runner-up in the tournament. Dravid contributed to India's campaign with 318 runs at an average of 63.60 and 16 dismissals (15 catches, 1 stumping). Highlights for Dravid in the tournament included a fifty against England, 44 not out against Pakistan in a successful chase and an unbeaten fifty in another successful chase against New Zealand.
Dravid topped the international runs chart for 2003/04 cricket season across formats aggregating 1993 runs from 31 matches at an average of 64.29 including three double hundreds. First of those came against New Zealand in the first of the two-test home series at Ahmedabad. Dravid scored 222 runs in the first innings and 73 runs in the second innings receiving a man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid captained Indian Test Team for the first time in the second game of the series at Mohali in the absence of Ganguly. Both the matches ended in a draw. Dravid top scored in the series with 313 runs at an average of 78.25. India next participated in TVS cup alongside New Zealand and Australia. India lost to Australia in the Final. Dravid scored two fifties in the series but the highlight was his fifty against New Zealand in the ninth match that came in just 22 balls – second fastest fifty by an Indian.
An Eden encore
After earning a draw in the first of the four-match Test series in Australia, Indians found themselves reeling at 85/4 in the Second Test at Adelaide after Australia had piled 556 runs in the first innings when Laxman joined Dravid in the middle. They batted for 93.5 overs bringing about their second 300-run partnership adding 303 runs together before Laxman perished for 148 runs. However, Dravid continued to complete his second double hundred of the season. He was the last man out for 233 runs as India conceded a marginal first innings lead of 33 runs to Australia. India bowled Australia out for paltry score of 196 riding on Agarkar's six-wicket haul, and were set a target of 230 runs to win the match. Dravid helped India tread through a tricky chase with an unbeaten fifty as India registered their first test victory in Australia since 1980/81 to go up 1–0 in the series. This was the first time that Australians were 0-1 down in a home series since 1994. Dravid won the man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid registered a score of ninety each in the next two tests as Australia leveled the series 1–1. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 619 runs at an average of 123.80 and was awarded player of the series for his efforts.
Dravid did moderately well in the ensuing VB series with three fifties in the league stage, all of which came in winning cause. However, India lost the best-of-three finals to Australia 2–0. Dravid was fined half his match fee for applying cough lozenge on the ball during a match in the series against Zimbabwe – an act that was claimed to be an innocent mistake by coach John Wright.
India visited Pakistan in March 2004 to participate in a bilateral Test series for the first time since 1989/90. Prior to the Test series, India participated and won the 5-match ODI series 3–2. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 73.59. Dravid scored 99 runs in the First ODI helping India post an imposing total of 349. He also took the important catch of threatening Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting on 122, as India went on to win the match by five runs. When Indians were trailing in the series 1–2, Dravid helped India level the series with an unbeaten fifty during a successful chase in the Fourth ODI.
Captaincy
Dravid captained India in the first two tests in the absence of injured Ganguly and led India to their first-ever Test victory in Pakistan. Dravid, standing in only his second test as team's captain, took a bold and controversial decision during First Test at Multan that divided the cricket fraternity. Pakistani cricketers had been on field for 150+ overs as India posted a total in excess of 600 runs in the first innings. Dravid, who wanted to have a crack at the tired Pakistani batsmen in the final hour of second day's play, declared Indian innings with Tendulkar batting at 194, just six runs short of his double century. While some praised the team before personal milestones approach of the Indian captain, most criticized Dravid's timing of declaration as there were no pressing concerns and there was ample time left in the match to try and bowl Pakistan out twice. While Tendulkar was admittedly disappointed, any rumours of rift between him and Dravid were quashed by both the cricketers and the team management, who claimed that the matter had been discussed and sorted amicably behind closed doors. India eventually went on to win the match by innings margin. Pakistan leveled the series beating India in the Second Test. Dravid slammed a double hundred in the Third Test at Rawalpindi – his third double hundred of the season. He scored 270 runs – his career best performance – before getting out to reverse sweep trying to force the pace. India went on to win the match and the series – their first series victory outside India since 1993. Dravid was adjudged man of the match for his effort.
Dravid was appointed the captain for the Indian team for 2007 World Cup, where India had an unsuccessful campaign.
During India's unsuccessful tour of England in 2011, in which their 4–0 loss cost them the top rank in Test cricket, Dravid made three centuries.
2011 Tour of England
Having regained his form on the tour to West Indies, where he scored a match-winning hundred in Sabina park, Jamaica, Dravid then toured England in what was billed as the series which would decide the World No. 1 ranking in tests.
In the first test at Lord's, in reply to England's 474, Dravid scored an unbeaten 103, his first hundred at the ground where he debuted in 1996. He received scant support from his teammates as India were bowled out for 286 and lost the test. The 2nd test at Trentbridge, Nottingham again saw Dravid in brilliant form. Sent out to open the batting in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir, he scored his second successive hundred. His 117 though, again came in a losing cause, as a collapse of 6 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings led to a massive defeat by 319 runs. Dravid failed in both innings in the third test at Birmingham, as India lost by an innings and 242 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their history. However, he came back brilliantly in the fourth and final match at The Oval. Again opening the batting in place of Gambhir, he scored an unbeaten 146 out of India's total of 300, carrying his bat through the innings. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as India lost the match, completing a 0–4 whitewash.
In all, he scored 461 runs in the four matches at an average of 76.83 with three hundreds. He accounted for over 26% of India's runs in the series and was named India's man of the series by England coach Andy Flower. His performance in the series was met with widespread admiration and was hailed by some as one of his finest ever series
Retirement
Rahul Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 2009, but was selected again for an ODI series in England in 2011, surprising even Dravid himself since, although he had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he had not expected to be recalled. After being selected, he announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the series. He played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 16 September 2011, scoring 69 runs from 79 balls before being bowled by Graeme Swann. His last limited-overs international match was his debut T20I match; he announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.
Dravid announced his retirement from Test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, after the 2011–12 tour of Australia, but he said that he would captain the Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.
In July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.
Coaching
Towards the end of his playing career, Dravid took on a role as mentor of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, officially taking over in 2014. During this time, he also became involved with the Indian national team, serving as mentor for the team's tour of England in 2014. After leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the 2015 IPL season, he was appointed as the head coach of the India U-19 and India A teams. Dravid achieved immense success as coach, with the U-19s reaching the finals of the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Two years later, the team went on to win the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, beating Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup, the most by any national side. Dravid was credited with bringing up future national team players including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Alongside his coaching roles, Dravid took on several mentor roles, including at the Delhi Daredevils IPL team.
In July 2019, following his four-year stint as coach of the junior teams, Dravid was appointed Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He was in charge of "overseeing all cricket related activities at NCA was involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA". As head of NCA, he was widely praised for developing a steady supply of talent to the senior team and revamping player fitness and rehabilitation regiments.
In November 2021, he was appointed as head coach of the Indian national cricket team.
County stint
Dravid had always been keen on further honing his batting skills in testing English conditions by playing in county cricket. He had discussed about the prospects regarding the same with John Wright, the former New Zealand cricketer and incumbent Kent coach, during India's 1998–99 tour of New Zealand. Wright was particularly impressed with Dravid's performance on that tour, especially his twin hundreds at Hamilton. The talks finally materialized and Dravid made his county debut for Kent in April 2000. His co-debutante Ganguly made his county debuted in the same match, albeit for the opposite team.
Kent offer had come as a welcome change for Dravid. There was too much negativity surrounding Indian cricket marred by match fixing controversy. Dravid himself had been struggling to score runs in Tests for quite some time now. The county stint gave him a chance to "get away to a new environment" and "relax". The wide variety of pitches and weather conditions in England and a full season of intense county cricket against professional cricketers gave him a chance to further his cricketing education and learn things about his game.
Dravid made the most of this opportunity. In his 2nd game for Kent, Dravid scored a fluid 182 propelling them to an innings and 163 runs victory over the touring Zimbabwe side. Out of 7 first class tour games that Zimbabwe played on that tour, Kent was the only team that managed to beat them. Dravid hit another fifty in a draw against Surrey. The newly appointed vice-captain had to leave the county championship temporarily, missing two championship games and two one day games, to fulfill his national commitment. Indian team, Dravid included, fared poorly in the Asia cup and failed to qualify for the Final. Subsequently, Dravid returned to England to resume his county sojourn with Kent.
In July 2000, Kent's away match against Hampshire at Portsmouth was billed as a showdown between two great cricketers- Warne and Dravid. Dravid came out on top. On a dustbowl, tailor-made to suit home team spinners, Warne took 4 wickets but could not take the all important wicket of Dravid. Coming in to bat at 15/2, Dravid faced 295 balls scoring 137 runs – his maiden hundred in county championships. Dravid scored 73 not out in the 2nd innings guiding Kent to a six wicket victory as Warne went wicketless.
In their last county game of the season, Kent needed one bonus point to prevent themselves from being relegated to the Second Division. Dravid made sure they stay put in the First Division by fetching that one bonus point with an inning of 77 runs.
Dravid concluded a successful stint with Kent aggregating 1221 runs from 16 first class matches(15 county games and 1 tour game against Zimbabwe) at an average of 55.50 including 2 hundreds and 8 fifties. He shouldered Kent's batting single-handedly as the second best Kent batsman during the same period, Paul Nixon, scored just 567 runs at an average of 33.35 in 17 matches. Dravid contributed to Kent's county campaign not just with the bat but also with his fielding and bowling taking 14 catches and 4 wickets at an average of 32.00.
Indian Premier League and Champions League
Rahul Dravid played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2008, 2009 and 2010. Later he played for Rajasthan Royals and led it to finals of Champions League T20 in 2013, and play-offs of Indian Premier League in 2013. Dravid announced retirement from Twenty20 after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 in September–October 2013.
Playing style
Dravid was known for his technique, and has been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team. In the beginning, he was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However, he later scored consistently in ODIs as well, earning him the ICC Player of the Year award. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements is now used as his nickname. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket, with an average of 52.31; this included five double centuries. In one-dayers, he averaged 39.16, with a strike rate of 71.23. He is one of the few Indians whose Test average is better at away than at home, averaging almost five runs more on foreign pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's Test average in abroad is 55.53, and his Test average at home is 50.76; his ODI average abroad is 37.93 and his ODI average at home is 43.11. Dravid averages 66.34 runs in Indian Test victories. and 50.69 runs in ODIs.
Dravid's sole Test wicket was of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test match against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs.
Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is a world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings played since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively.
He was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman, Dravid scored 50 runs not out in 22 balls (a strike rate of 227.27) against New Zealand in Hyderabad on 15 November 2003, the second fastest 50 among Indian batsmen. Only Ajit Agarkar's 67 runs off 21 balls is faster than that of Dravid.
In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year award by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
After reaching 10,000 Test runs milestone, he said, "It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."
Dravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is the fourth highest run scorer in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis.
Controversies
Ball-tampering incident
In January 2004, Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence, although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his match fee.
Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident".
Captaincy
Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests.
One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs not out with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. In this test match Sehwag scored triple century first time. He became the first Indian to score triple century in test with a score of 309.
In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling it to draw the series 1–1. The defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch, which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings.
After India failed to qualify for the final of the DLF Cup, Dravid, the skipper, was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.
He was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after his then IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh out of the eight teams that participated in the 2008 season.
Achievements and awards
National honours
1998 – Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in cricket
2004 – Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian award
2013 – Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award
Other honours
1999 – CEAT International Cricketer of the World Cup
2000 – Dravid was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
2004 – ICC Cricketer of the year – Highest award in the ICC listings
2004 – ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year
2004 – MTV Youth Icon of the Year
2006 – Captain of the ICC's Test Team
2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Dev Anand
2012 – Don Bradman Award with Glenn McGrath
2015 – Wisden India's Highest Impact Test Batsman
2018 – ICC Hall of Fame
Personal life
Family
On 4 May 2003 he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. Vijeta Pendharkar is also from Deshastha Brahmin community as Dravid. They have two children: Samit, born in 2005, and Anvay, born in 2009. Dravid is fluent in Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and English.
Commercial endorsements
Rahul Dravid has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Reebok (1996 – present), Pepsi (1997 present), Kissan (Unknown), Castrol (2001 – present), Hutch
(2003), Karnataka Tourism (2004), Max Life (2005 – present), Bank of Baroda (2005 – present), Citizen (2006 – present), Skyline Construction (2006 – present), Sansui (2007), Gillette (2007 – present), Samsung (2002 – 2004), World Trade Center Noida (2013– present),
CRED (2021-present).
Social commitments
Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)
UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign
Biographies
Books
Two biographies have been written on Rahul Dravid and his career:
Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004
The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005
A collection of articles, testimonials and interviews related to Dravid was released by ESPNcricinfo following his retirement. The book was titled Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel.
See also
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman
Virendra Sehwag
References
External links
Indian cricketers
India Test cricketers
India One Day International cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
India Test cricket captains
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Karnataka cricketers
South Zone cricketers
Kent cricketers
Scotland cricketers
ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers
ICC World XI One Day International cricketers
World XI Test cricketers
Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers
Canterbury cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Rajasthan Royals cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
1973 births
Living people
Cricketers from Indore
Cricketers from Bangalore
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year
Marathi people
Indian cricket coaches
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports
Indian cricket commentators
Wicket-keepers | false | [
"Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the under-19 team finished runners up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Known for his sound batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall.\n\nBorn in a Marathi family and raised in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.\n\nAs of December 2016, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. In 2004, after completing his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played. He has faced 31258 balls, which is the highest number of balls faced by any player in test cricket. He has also spent 44152 minutes at the crease, which is the highest time spent on crease by any player in test cricket. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are currently the highest scoring partnership in Test cricket history having scored 6920 runs combined when batting together for India.\n\nIn August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.\n\nRahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively.\n\nIn 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. Indian badminton player Prannoy Kumar, Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and young Golfer S. Chikkarangappa was part of the initial group of athletes to be mentored by Rahul Dravid. In July 2018, Dravid became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.\n\nEarly life\nDravid was born in a Marathi-Speaking Brahmin family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His family later moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, where he was raised. His mother tongue is Marathi. Dravid's father Sharad Dravid worked for a company that makes jams and preserves, giving rise to the later nickname Jammy. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore. Dravid has a younger brother named Vijay. He did his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore. He was selected to India's national cricket team while working towards an MBA at St Joseph's College of Business Administration. He is fluent in several languages: Marathi, Kannada, English and Hindi.\n\nFormative years and domestic career\nDravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented Karnataka at the under-15, the under-17 and the under-19 levels. Former cricketer Keki Tarapore first noticed Dravid's talent while coaching at a summer camp in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dravid scored a century for his school team. He also played as wicket-keeper.\n\nDravid made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991, while still attending college. Playing alongside future India teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath against Maharashtra in Pune, he scored 82 runs in the match, which ended in a draw. He followed it up with a century against Bengal and three successive centuries after. However, Dravid's first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries and finished up with 380 runs at an average of 63.30, getting selected for the South Zone cricket team in the Duleep Trophy. Dravid's caught the national team selectors' eye with his good performances for India A in the home series against England A in 1994–95.\n\nInternational career\n\nDebut\nDravid, who had been knocking at the doors of Indian national cricket team for quite a while with his consistent performance in domestic cricket, received his first national call in October 1994, for the last two matches of the Wills World Series. However, he could not break into the playing eleven. He went back to the domestic circuit and kept knocking harder. So much so, that when the selectors announced the Indian team for the 1996 World Cup sans Dravid, an Indian daily newspaper carried a headline – \"Rahul Dravid gets a raw deal\". Dravid eventually made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the Singer Cup held in Singapore immediately after the 1996 World Cup, replacing Vinod Kambli. He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat, scoring just three runs before being dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan, but took two catches in the match. He followed it up with another failure in the next game scoring just four runs before getting run out against Pakistan.\n\nIn contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian squad touring England on the backdrop of a consistent performance in domestic cricket for five years. Fine performances in the tour games including fifties against Gloucestershire and Leicestershire failed to earn him a place in the team for the First Test. He finally made his Test debut at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series at the expense of injured senior batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar, who was suffering from an ankle injury, was to undergo a fitness test on the morning of the Second Test. Dravid had already been informed that he would play if Manjrekar fails the test. As Manjrekar failed the fitness test, ten minutes before the toss, Sandeep Patil, the then Indian coach, went up to Dravid to inform him that he was indeed going to make his debut that day. Patil recalled years later:\n\nComing in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships, first with another debutante Sourav Ganguly and then with Indian lower order, securing a vital first innings lead for his team. Dravid scored 95 runs before getting out to the bowling of Chris Lewis. He was just five runs short of a landmark debut hundred when he nicked a Lewis delivery to the keeper and walked even before umpire's decision. He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismiss Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Srinath. In the next tour game against British Universities, Dravid scored a hundred. He scored another fifty in the first innings of the Third Test. Dravid concluded a successful debut series with an impressive average of 62.33 from two Test matches.\n\n1996–98: A tale of two formats\nDravid's early years in international cricket mirrored his international debut. He had contrasting fortunes in the long and the shorter format of the game. While he straightaway made a name for himself in Test cricket, he had to struggle quite a bit to make a mark in ODIs.\n\nAfter a successful Test debut in England, Dravid played in the one-off Test against Australia in Delhi – his first Test in India. Batting at no. 6, he scored 40 runs in the first innings. Dravid batted at no. 3 position for the first time in the First Test of the three-match home series against South Africa in Ahmedabad in November 1996. He didn't do too well in the series scoring just 175 runs at a modest average of 29.16.\n\nTwo weeks later, India toured South Africa for a three–match Test series. Chasing a target of 395 runs in the First Test, Indian team bundled out meekly for 66 runs on the Durban pitch that provided excessive bounce and seam movement. Dravid, batting at no. 6, was the only Indian batsman who reached double figures in the innings scoring 27 not out. He was promoted to the no. 3 slot again in the second innings of the Second Test, a move that paid rich dividends in the ensuing Test. He almost won the Third Test for India with his maiden test hundred in the first innings scoring 148 runs and another 81 runs in the second innings at Wanderers before the thunderstorms, dim light and Cullinan's hundred saved the day for South Africa enabling them to draw the match. Dravid's performance in this Test earned him his first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. He top scored for India in the series with 277 runs at an average of 55.40.\n\nDravid continued in the same vein in the West Indies where he once again top scored for India in the five–match Test series aggregating 360 runs at an average of 72.00 including four fifties. 92 runs scored in the first innings of the fifth match in Georgetown earned him a joint Man of the Match award along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With this series, Dravid concluded a successful 1996/97 Test season, topping the international runs chart with 852 runs from 12 matches at an average of 50.11 with six fifties and one hundred.\n\nDravid continued his good run scoring seven fifties in the next eight Tests that included fifties in six consecutive innings (three each against Sri Lanka and Australia), becoming only the second Indian to do so after Gundappa Vishwanath. By the end of 1997/98 Test season, he had scored 15 fifties in 22 Tests which included four scores of nineties but just a solitary hundred.\n\nThe century drought came to an end in the 1998/99 Test season when he further raised the bar of his performance scoring 752 runs in seven Tests at an average of 62.66 that included four hundreds and one fifty and in the process topping the runs chart for India for the season. The first of those four hundreds came on the Zimbabwe tour. Dravid top scored in both the innings against Zimbabwe scoring 118 and 44 runs respectively however, India lost the one-off Test.\n\nThe Zimbabwe tour was followed by a tour to New Zealand. First Test having been abandoned without a ball being bowled, the series started for Dravid with the first duck of his Test career in the first innings of the Second Test and ended with hundreds in both the innings of the Third Test in Hamilton. He scored 190 and 103 not out in the first and the second innings respectively, becoming only the third Indian batsman, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to score a century in both innings of a Test match. Dravid topped the runs table for the series with 321 runs from two matches at an average of 107.00 but could not prevent India from losing the series 0–1.\n\nLater that month, India played a two Test home series against Pakistan. Dravid didn't contribute much with the bat. India lost the First Test but won the Second Test in Delhi riding on Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul. Dravid played his part in the 10-wicket haul by taking a catch to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed who was Kumble's eighth victim of the innings. The Indo-Pak Test series was followed by the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship. Dravid couldn't do much with the bat as India went on to lose the riot-affected First Test of the championship against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. India went to Sri Lanka to play the Second Test of the championship. Dravid scored his fourth hundred of the season at Colombo in the first innings of the match. He also effected a brilliant run out of Russel Arnold during Sri Lankan innings fielding at short leg. On the fourth morning, Dravid got injured while fielding at the same position when the ball from Jayawardene's pull shot hit his face through the helmet grill. He didn't come out to bat in the second innings due to the injury. The match ended in a draw as India failed to qualify for the Finals of the championship.\n\nIn a stark contrast to his Test career, Dravid had to struggle a lot to make a mark in the ODIs. Between his ODI debut in April 1996 and the end of 1998 calendar year, Dravid regularly found himself in and out of the ODI team.\n\nDravid tasted first success of his ODI career in the 1996 'Friendship' Cup against Pakistan in the tough conditions of Toronto. He emerged as the highest scorer of the series with 220 runs in five matches at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of 68.53. He won his first ODI Man of the Match award for the 46 runs scored in the low scoring third game of the series. He top scored for India in the Standard Bank International One-Day Series 1996/97 in South Africa with 280 runs from eight games at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 60.73, the highlight being a Man of the Match award-winning performance (84 runs, one catch) in the Final of the series that came in a losing cause. He was the second highest run scorer for India in the four-match bilateral ODI series in the West Indies in 1996/97 with 121 runs at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 57.61. Dravid's maiden ODI hundred came in a losing cause in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup against Pakistan in Chennai. Dravid top scored for India in the quadrangular event with 189 runs from three games at an average of 94.50 and a strike rate of 75.60 however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the series.\n\nHowever, Dravid's achievements in the ODIs were dwarfed by his failures in the shorter format of the game. 14 runs from two games in the 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup; 20 runs from two innings in the Singer World Series; 65 runs from four innings in the 1997 'Friendship' Cup; 88 runs from four games in the 1998 Coca-Cola Triangular Series including a 22-ball five runs and a 21-ball one run innings, both coming against Bangladesh; 32 runs from four games in the 1998 'Friendship' Cup; a slew of such poor performances often forced him to the sidelines of the India ODI squad. By the end of 1998, Dravid had scored 1709 runs in 65 ODIs at a humble average of 31.64 with a poor strike rate of 63.48.\n\nBy now, Dravid had been branded as a Test specialist. While he continued to score heavily in Test cricket, his poor strike rate in ODIs came under scanner. He drew criticism for not being able to adjust his style of play to the needs of ODI cricket, his lack of attacking capability and play big strokes. However, Dravid worked hard and re-tooled his game by increasing his range of strokes and adapting his batting style to suit the requirements of ODI cricket. He learned to pace his innings cleverly without going for the slogs.\n\nDravid's ODI renaissance began during the 1998/99 New Zealand tour. He scored a run-a-ball hundred in the first match of the bilateral ODI series that earned him his third Man of the Match award in ODIs. The hundred came in a losing cause. However, his effort of 51 runs from 71 balls in the Fourth ODI came in India's victory and earned him his second Man of the Match award of the series. He ended as the top scorer of the series with 309 runs from five games at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 84.65. Dravid scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in 1998/99 Pepsi Cup at Nagpur adding a record 236 runs for the 2nd wicket with Ganguly, who also scored a hundred in the match. Uncharacteristically, Dravid was the faster of the two scoring 116 of 118 deliveries. In the next match against Pakistan, he bowled four overs and took the wicket of Saeed Anwar, out caught behind by wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. This was his first wicket in international cricket.\n\nDravid warmed up for his debut World Cup with two fifties in the 1998–99 Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah, one each against England and Pakistan. Standing-in as the substitute wicket-keeper in the third match of the series for Nayan Mongia, who got injured during keeping, Dravid effected two dismissals. He first stumped Graeme Hick off Sunil Joshi's bowling, who became Dravid's first victim as a wicket-keeper, and then caught Neil Fairbrother off Ajay Jadeja's bowling. He top scored for India in the tournament, though his last ODI innings before the World Cup was a golden duck against Pakistan, in the Final of the series.\n\nDebut World Cup success\n\nDravid announced his form in England hitting consecutive fifties against Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the warm-up games.\n\nHe made his World Cup debut against South Africa at Hove striking a half century, but scored just 13 in the next game against Zimbabwe. India lost both the games. Having lost the first two games, India needed to win the remaining three games of the first round to have any chance of advancing into the Super Six stage. Dravid put up a partnership of 237 runs with Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol – a World Cup record – and in the process hit his maiden World Cup hundred, helping India to a 94-run victory. India's designated keeper Mongia left the field at the end of 9th over during Kenyan innings, forcing Dravid to keep the wickets for the rest of the innings. In the absence of injured Nayan Mongia, Dravid played his first ODI as a designated keeper against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Dravid once again staged a record breaking partnership worth 318 runs – the first ever three hundred run partnership in ODI history – but this time with Sourav Ganguly, guiding India to a 157-run win. Dravid scored 145 runs from 129 balls with 17 fours and a six, becoming the second batsman in World Cup history to hit back-to-back hundreds. Dravid struck a fine fifty in the last group match as India defeated England to advance into the Super Six stage. Dravid scored 2, 61 & 29 in the three Super Six matches against Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand respectively. India failed to qualify for the semi-finals having lost to Australia and New Zealand but achieved a consolation victory against Pakistan in a tense game, what with the military conflict going on between the two countries in Kashmir at the same time. Dravid emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 461 runs from 8 games at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate of 85.52.\n\nDravid's post-World Cup campaign started on a poor note with just 40 runs coming in 4 games of Aiwa Cup in August 1999. He soon came into his own, top-scoring for India in two consecutive limited-overs series – the Singapore Challenge, the highlight being a hundred in the Final coming in a lost cause, and the DMC Cup, the highlight being a match winning effort (77 runs, 4 catches) in the series decider for which he received man-of-the-match award. Dravid topped the international runs chart for 1999 cricket season across all formats scoring 782 runs from 19 matches. By now, Dravid had started to keep wickets on an infrequent basis with India fielding him as designated wicket-keeper in five out of 10 ODIs played in the three events.\n\nDravid kick-started his post World Cup Test season with a decent outing against New Zealand in the 3-match home series. His best effort of the series came in the second innings of the First test at Mohali scoring 144, helping India salvage a draw after being bowled out for 83 runs in the First innings. This was Dravid's sixth test hundred but his first test hundred on Indian soil. Dravid did well in the 3–2 series win against New Zealand in the bilateral ODI series, scoring 240 runs in 5 games at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 83.62, ending as the second highest scorer in the series. His career best effort in ODIs came in this series in the second game at Hyderabad where he scored run-a-ball 153 runs which included 15 fours and two sixes. He featured in a 331-run partnership with Tendulkar, which was the highest partnership in ODI cricket history, a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken in 2015. In 1999, Dravid scored 1761 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 46.34 and a strike rate of 75.16 including 6 hundreds and 8 fifties and featured in two 300+ partnerships.\n\nIndia toured Australia in December 1999 for a 3-match test series and a triangular ODI tournament. Although Dravid scored a hundred against Tasmania in the practice match, he failed miserably with the bat in the Test series as India slumped to a 0–3 whitewash. He did reasonably well in the 1999–2000 Carlton & United Series scoring 3 fifties in the triangular event however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the tournament.\n\nDravid's poor form in Tests continued as India suffered a 0–2 whitewash against South Africa in a home series. He had moderate success in the bilateral ODI series against South Africa. He contributed to India's 3–2 series win with 208 runs at an average of 41.60 which included 2 fifties and three wickets at an average of 22.66 topping the bowling average chart for the series. His career best bowling figure of 2/43 from nine overs in the First ODI at Kochi, was also the best bowling figure by any bowler in that particular match.\n\nRise through the ranks\nIn February 2000, Tendulkar's resignation from captaincy led to the promotion of Ganguly, the vice-captain then, as the new captain of the Indian team. In May 2000, while Dravid was busy playing county cricket in England, he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team announced for the Asia cup.\n\nIndia did well in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. Indian team, coming out of the shadows of the infamous match fixing scandal, showed a lot of character under the new leadership of Ganguly and Dravid, beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid scored 157 runs in 4 matches of the tournament, at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid scored 85 runs in a match against Zimbabwe in the 2000–01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy while opening the innings but was forced to miss the rest of the tournament because of an injury.\n\nIndia kick started the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk knock of 41 runs from 49 balls, including 5 fours and a six, while chasing a target of 63 runs. The ensuing test series against Zimbabwe was John Wright's first assignment as Indian coach. Dravid, who was instrumental in Wright's appointment as India's first foreign head coach, welcomed him with his maiden double hundred. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second, guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 – highest batting average by an Indian in a series across all formats.\n\nDravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the fifth match of the bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe in the absence of Ganguly who was serving suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39-run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain.\n\nHistory at Eden\nThe Australian team toured India in February 2001 for what was being billed as the Final Frontier for Steve Waugh's all conquering men, who were coming on the back of 15 consecutive Test wins. Dravid failed in the first innings of the First Test but displayed strong resilience in Tendulkar's company in the second innings. Dravid's 196 ball long resistance finally ended when he got out bowled to Warne for 39 runs. Australians extended their winning streak to 16 Tests as they beat India convincingly by 10 wickets inside three days.\n\nThe Australian juggernaut seemed unstoppable as they looked on course towards their 17th consecutive victory in the Second Test at the Eden Gardens, when they bowled India out for meagre 171 in the first innings and enforced a follow-on after securing a massive lead of 274 runs. In the second innings, Laxman, who had scored a fine fifty in the first innings, was promoted to no. 3 position which had been Dravid's usual spot for quite sometime now, while Dravid, who had gotten out bowled to Warne for second time in a row in the first innings for just 25 runs, was relegated to no. 6 position. When Dravid joined Laxman in the middle on the third day of the Test, with scoreboard reading 232/4 and India still needing 42 runs to avoid an innings defeat, another convincing win for Australia looked inevitable. Instead, two of them staged one of the greatest fightbacks in cricketing history.\n\nDravid and Laxman played out the remaining time on the third day and whole of the fourth day, denying Australia any wicket on Day 4. Dravid, angered by the flak that the Indian team had been receiving lately in the media coverage, celebrated his hundred in an uncharacteristic fashion brandishing his bat at the press box. Eventually, Laxman got out on the fifth morning bringing the 376-runs partnership to an end. Dravid soon perished getting run out for 180 while trying to force the pace. Ganguly declared the innings at 657/7, setting Australia a target of 384 runs with 75 overs left in the match. An inspired team India bowled superbly to dismiss Australia for 212 in 68.3 overs. India won the match by 171 runs. This was only the third instance of a team winning a Test after following-on and India became the 2nd team to do so.\n\nDravid scored 81 runs in the first innings of the Third Test and took 4 catches in the match as India defeated Australia at Chennai in a nail biting finish to clinch the series 2–1. Dravid scored 80 in the first of the 5-match ODI series at his home ground as India won the match by 60 runs. He didn't do too well in the remaining 4 ODIs as Australia won the series 3–2. Dravid topped the averages for the 2000/01 Test season with 839 runs from six matches at an average of 104.87.\n\nDravid had a decent outing in Zimbabwe, scoring 137 runs from 134 balls in the First Tour game and aggregating 138 runs at an average of 69.00 from the drawn Test series. In the ensuing triangular ODI series, he aggregated 121 runs from 5 matches at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 101.68, the highlight being an unbeaten 72 off 64 balls, while chasing a target of 235 against Zimbabwe in the 3rd match of the series, guiding India to a 4-wicket win with four balls to spare. He was adjudged man of the match for his match winning knock.\n\nOn the next tour to Sri Lanka, India lost the first three matches of the triangular event. In the absence of suspended Ganguly, Dravid captained the side in the 4th match leading them to their first victory of the series. India won the next two matches to qualify for the Final. Dravid played crucial innings in all the three victories. Eventually, India lost the Final to Sri Lanka. He top scored for India in the series with 259 runs from seven matches at an average of 51.80 and a strike rate of 59.81. Reinstated to his usual no. 3 position in the absence of injured Laxman, Dravid top scored for India in the ensuing 3-Test series as well with 235 runs at an average of 47.00. The highlight for Dravid was 75 runs scored in the tough fourth innings chase of the Second Test – a crucial contribution to India's first Test win in Sri Lanka since 1993 despite the absence of key players like Tendulkar, Laxman, Srinath and Kumble.\n\nDravid had decent success in Standard Bank tri-series on South Africa tour, scoring 214 runs (including 3 fifties) at an average of 53.50 and a strike rate of 71.81. He also kept wickets in the final two ODIs of the series effecting 3 stumpings. The highlight for Dravid in the ensuing Test series came in the second innings of the Second Test. India, having failed to last hundred overs in any of the previous three innings in the series, needed to bat out four sessions in the Second Test to save the match. They started on a poor note losing their first wicket in the first over with no runs on the scoreboard. However, Dravid forged an important partnership of 171 runs with Dasgupta that lasted for 83.2 overs taking India to the brink of safety. Poor weather helped India salvage a draw as only 96.2 overs could be bowled in the innings. Dravid captained the team in the 'unofficial' Third test in the absence of injured Ganguly, which India lost by an innings margin.\n\nBy the end of the South African tour, Dravid had started experiencing problem in his right shoulder. Although he played the ensuing home test series against England, he pulled out of the six-match bilateral ODI series to undergo shoulder rehabilitation program in South Africa. He returned for the Zimbabwe's tour of India but performed below par, scoring a fifty each in the Test series and the bilateral ODI series.\n\n2002–2006: Peak years\nDravid hit the peak form of his career in 2002. Between Season 2002 and Season 2006, Dravid was the second highest scorer overall and top scorer for India across formats, scoring 8,914 runs from 174 matches at an average of 54.02, including 19 hundreds.\n\nDravid had a decent outing in West Indies in 2002. The highlights for him included – hitting a hundred with a swollen jaw and helping India avoid the follow-on in the process at Georgetown in the drawn First Test; contributing with a fifty and four catches to India's victory in the Second Test at Port of Spain – India's first Test victory in West Indies since 1975–76; and another fifty in the drawn Fourth Test with a wicket to boot – that of Ridley Jacobs who was batting on 118. This was Dravid's only wicket in Test cricket. He played as India's designated keeper in the ODI series but didn't contribute much with the bat in the 2–1 series win.\n\nA quartet of hundreds\nIndia's tour of England in 2002 started with a triangular ODI event involving India, England and Sri Lanka. India emerged as the winners of the series beating England in the Final – their first victory after nine consecutive defeats in one-day finals. Dravid played as designated keeper in six out of seven matches effecting nine dismissals (6 catches, 3 stumpings) – most by a keeper in the series. He also did well with the bat aggregating 245 runs at an average of 49.00 including three fifties. His performance against Sri Lanka in fourth ODI (64 runs, 1 catch) earned him a man of the match award.\n\nIndia lost the first of the four match Test series. Having conceded a 260 runs lead in the first innings of the Second Test at Nottingham, Indians were in a spot of bother. However, Dravid led the fightback in the second innings with a hundred as Indians managed to earn a draw.\n\nGanguly won the toss in the Third Test and took a bold decision to bat first on a gloomy overcast morning at Headingley on a pitch known to be traditionally conducive for fast and swing bowling. Having lost an early wicket, Dravid weathered the storm in company of Sanjay Bangar. They played cautiously, taking body blows on a pitch with uneven bounce. Dravid completed his second hundred of the series in the process. As the conditions became more and more conducive for batting, the Indian batsmen piled on England's misery. Indians declared the innings on 628/8 and then bowled England out twice to register their first test victory in England since 1986. Despite being outscored by Tendulkar, Dravid was awarded man of the match for his efforts. Dravid scored a double hundred in the drawn Fourth Test to notch up his second consecutive man of the match award of the series. Christopher Martin-Jenkins noted during the Fourth Test: Dravid aggregated 602 runs in the series from four matches at an average of 100.33, including three hundreds and a fifty and was adjudged joint man of the series along with Michael Vaughan.\n\nIndia jointly shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Dravid contributed to India's successful campaign with 120 runs at an average of 60.00 and five dismissals behind the wicket. Dravid scored a hundred in the First Test of the three match home series against West Indies becoming the first Indian batsman to score hundreds in four consecutive Test innings but had to retire soon after owing to severe cramps. Dravid did well in the subsequent bilateral 7-match ODI series aggregating 300 runs at an average of 75.00 and a strike rate of 89.82 including one hundred and two fifties. He also effected 7 dismissals (6 catches, 1 stumping) in the series. India trailing 1–2, needed 325 runs to win the Fourth ODI and level the series. Dravid scored a hundred leading India to a successful chase. He once again scored a crucial fifty in the Sixth ODI as India once again leveled the series after trailing 2–3. India, however, lost the last match to lose the series 3–4.\n\nDravid top scored for India in the two-match Test series in New Zealand as India slumped to a whitewash. He played as designated keeper in six of the 7-match bilateral ODI series and effected seven dismissals but fared poorly with the bat as India were handed a 2-5 drubbing by the New Zealand.\n\n2003 Cricket World Cup\nDravid arrived in South Africa with the Indian squad to participate in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in the capacity of first-choice keeper-batsman as part of their seven batsmen-four bowlers strategy – an experiment that had brought success to the team in the past year. The idea was that making Dravid keep wickets allowed India to accommodate an extra specialist batsman. The strategy worked out well for India in the World Cup. India recovered from a less than convincing victory against minnows Netherlands and a loss to Australia in the league stage and embarked on a dream run winning eight consecutive matches to qualify for the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1983. India eventually lost the Final to Australia ending as runner-up in the tournament. Dravid contributed to India's campaign with 318 runs at an average of 63.60 and 16 dismissals (15 catches, 1 stumping). Highlights for Dravid in the tournament included a fifty against England, 44 not out against Pakistan in a successful chase and an unbeaten fifty in another successful chase against New Zealand.\n\nDravid topped the international runs chart for 2003/04 cricket season across formats aggregating 1993 runs from 31 matches at an average of 64.29 including three double hundreds. First of those came against New Zealand in the first of the two-test home series at Ahmedabad. Dravid scored 222 runs in the first innings and 73 runs in the second innings receiving a man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid captained Indian Test Team for the first time in the second game of the series at Mohali in the absence of Ganguly. Both the matches ended in a draw. Dravid top scored in the series with 313 runs at an average of 78.25. India next participated in TVS cup alongside New Zealand and Australia. India lost to Australia in the Final. Dravid scored two fifties in the series but the highlight was his fifty against New Zealand in the ninth match that came in just 22 balls – second fastest fifty by an Indian.\n\nAn Eden encore\n\nAfter earning a draw in the first of the four-match Test series in Australia, Indians found themselves reeling at 85/4 in the Second Test at Adelaide after Australia had piled 556 runs in the first innings when Laxman joined Dravid in the middle. They batted for 93.5 overs bringing about their second 300-run partnership adding 303 runs together before Laxman perished for 148 runs. However, Dravid continued to complete his second double hundred of the season. He was the last man out for 233 runs as India conceded a marginal first innings lead of 33 runs to Australia. India bowled Australia out for paltry score of 196 riding on Agarkar's six-wicket haul, and were set a target of 230 runs to win the match. Dravid helped India tread through a tricky chase with an unbeaten fifty as India registered their first test victory in Australia since 1980/81 to go up 1–0 in the series. This was the first time that Australians were 0-1 down in a home series since 1994. Dravid won the man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid registered a score of ninety each in the next two tests as Australia leveled the series 1–1. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 619 runs at an average of 123.80 and was awarded player of the series for his efforts.\n\nDravid did moderately well in the ensuing VB series with three fifties in the league stage, all of which came in winning cause. However, India lost the best-of-three finals to Australia 2–0. Dravid was fined half his match fee for applying cough lozenge on the ball during a match in the series against Zimbabwe – an act that was claimed to be an innocent mistake by coach John Wright.\n\nIndia visited Pakistan in March 2004 to participate in a bilateral Test series for the first time since 1989/90. Prior to the Test series, India participated and won the 5-match ODI series 3–2. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 73.59. Dravid scored 99 runs in the First ODI helping India post an imposing total of 349. He also took the important catch of threatening Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting on 122, as India went on to win the match by five runs. When Indians were trailing in the series 1–2, Dravid helped India level the series with an unbeaten fifty during a successful chase in the Fourth ODI.\n\nCaptaincy\nDravid captained India in the first two tests in the absence of injured Ganguly and led India to their first-ever Test victory in Pakistan. Dravid, standing in only his second test as team's captain, took a bold and controversial decision during First Test at Multan that divided the cricket fraternity. Pakistani cricketers had been on field for 150+ overs as India posted a total in excess of 600 runs in the first innings. Dravid, who wanted to have a crack at the tired Pakistani batsmen in the final hour of second day's play, declared Indian innings with Tendulkar batting at 194, just six runs short of his double century. While some praised the team before personal milestones approach of the Indian captain, most criticized Dravid's timing of declaration as there were no pressing concerns and there was ample time left in the match to try and bowl Pakistan out twice. While Tendulkar was admittedly disappointed, any rumours of rift between him and Dravid were quashed by both the cricketers and the team management, who claimed that the matter had been discussed and sorted amicably behind closed doors. India eventually went on to win the match by innings margin. Pakistan leveled the series beating India in the Second Test. Dravid slammed a double hundred in the Third Test at Rawalpindi – his third double hundred of the season. He scored 270 runs – his career best performance – before getting out to reverse sweep trying to force the pace. India went on to win the match and the series – their first series victory outside India since 1993. Dravid was adjudged man of the match for his effort.\n\nDravid was appointed the captain for the Indian team for 2007 World Cup, where India had an unsuccessful campaign.\n\nDuring India's unsuccessful tour of England in 2011, in which their 4–0 loss cost them the top rank in Test cricket, Dravid made three centuries.\n\n2011 Tour of England\nHaving regained his form on the tour to West Indies, where he scored a match-winning hundred in Sabina park, Jamaica, Dravid then toured England in what was billed as the series which would decide the World No. 1 ranking in tests.\nIn the first test at Lord's, in reply to England's 474, Dravid scored an unbeaten 103, his first hundred at the ground where he debuted in 1996. He received scant support from his teammates as India were bowled out for 286 and lost the test. The 2nd test at Trentbridge, Nottingham again saw Dravid in brilliant form. Sent out to open the batting in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir, he scored his second successive hundred. His 117 though, again came in a losing cause, as a collapse of 6 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings led to a massive defeat by 319 runs. Dravid failed in both innings in the third test at Birmingham, as India lost by an innings and 242 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their history. However, he came back brilliantly in the fourth and final match at The Oval. Again opening the batting in place of Gambhir, he scored an unbeaten 146 out of India's total of 300, carrying his bat through the innings. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as India lost the match, completing a 0–4 whitewash.\nIn all, he scored 461 runs in the four matches at an average of 76.83 with three hundreds. He accounted for over 26% of India's runs in the series and was named India's man of the series by England coach Andy Flower. His performance in the series was met with widespread admiration and was hailed by some as one of his finest ever series\n\nRetirement\nRahul Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 2009, but was selected again for an ODI series in England in 2011, surprising even Dravid himself since, although he had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he had not expected to be recalled. After being selected, he announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the series. He played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 16 September 2011, scoring 69 runs from 79 balls before being bowled by Graeme Swann. His last limited-overs international match was his debut T20I match; he announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.\n\nDravid announced his retirement from Test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, after the 2011–12 tour of Australia, but he said that he would captain the Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.\n\nIn July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.\n\nCoaching\nTowards the end of his playing career, Dravid took on a role as mentor of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, officially taking over in 2014. During this time, he also became involved with the Indian national team, serving as mentor for the team's tour of England in 2014. After leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the 2015 IPL season, he was appointed as the head coach of the India U-19 and India A teams. Dravid achieved immense success as coach, with the U-19s reaching the finals of the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Two years later, the team went on to win the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, beating Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup, the most by any national side. Dravid was credited with bringing up future national team players including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Alongside his coaching roles, Dravid took on several mentor roles, including at the Delhi Daredevils IPL team.\n\nIn July 2019, following his four-year stint as coach of the junior teams, Dravid was appointed Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He was in charge of \"overseeing all cricket related activities at NCA was involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA\". As head of NCA, he was widely praised for developing a steady supply of talent to the senior team and revamping player fitness and rehabilitation regiments.\n\nIn November 2021, he was appointed as head coach of the Indian national cricket team.\n\nCounty stint\n\nDravid had always been keen on further honing his batting skills in testing English conditions by playing in county cricket. He had discussed about the prospects regarding the same with John Wright, the former New Zealand cricketer and incumbent Kent coach, during India's 1998–99 tour of New Zealand. Wright was particularly impressed with Dravid's performance on that tour, especially his twin hundreds at Hamilton. The talks finally materialized and Dravid made his county debut for Kent in April 2000. His co-debutante Ganguly made his county debuted in the same match, albeit for the opposite team.\n\nKent offer had come as a welcome change for Dravid. There was too much negativity surrounding Indian cricket marred by match fixing controversy. Dravid himself had been struggling to score runs in Tests for quite some time now. The county stint gave him a chance to \"get away to a new environment\" and \"relax\". The wide variety of pitches and weather conditions in England and a full season of intense county cricket against professional cricketers gave him a chance to further his cricketing education and learn things about his game.\n\nDravid made the most of this opportunity. In his 2nd game for Kent, Dravid scored a fluid 182 propelling them to an innings and 163 runs victory over the touring Zimbabwe side. Out of 7 first class tour games that Zimbabwe played on that tour, Kent was the only team that managed to beat them. Dravid hit another fifty in a draw against Surrey. The newly appointed vice-captain had to leave the county championship temporarily, missing two championship games and two one day games, to fulfill his national commitment. Indian team, Dravid included, fared poorly in the Asia cup and failed to qualify for the Final. Subsequently, Dravid returned to England to resume his county sojourn with Kent.\n\nIn July 2000, Kent's away match against Hampshire at Portsmouth was billed as a showdown between two great cricketers- Warne and Dravid. Dravid came out on top. On a dustbowl, tailor-made to suit home team spinners, Warne took 4 wickets but could not take the all important wicket of Dravid. Coming in to bat at 15/2, Dravid faced 295 balls scoring 137 runs – his maiden hundred in county championships. Dravid scored 73 not out in the 2nd innings guiding Kent to a six wicket victory as Warne went wicketless.\n\nIn their last county game of the season, Kent needed one bonus point to prevent themselves from being relegated to the Second Division. Dravid made sure they stay put in the First Division by fetching that one bonus point with an inning of 77 runs.\n\nDravid concluded a successful stint with Kent aggregating 1221 runs from 16 first class matches(15 county games and 1 tour game against Zimbabwe) at an average of 55.50 including 2 hundreds and 8 fifties. He shouldered Kent's batting single-handedly as the second best Kent batsman during the same period, Paul Nixon, scored just 567 runs at an average of 33.35 in 17 matches. Dravid contributed to Kent's county campaign not just with the bat but also with his fielding and bowling taking 14 catches and 4 wickets at an average of 32.00.\n\nIndian Premier League and Champions League\n\nRahul Dravid played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2008, 2009 and 2010. Later he played for Rajasthan Royals and led it to finals of Champions League T20 in 2013, and play-offs of Indian Premier League in 2013. Dravid announced retirement from Twenty20 after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 in September–October 2013.\n\nPlaying style\nDravid was known for his technique, and has been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team. In the beginning, he was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However, he later scored consistently in ODIs as well, earning him the ICC Player of the Year award. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements is now used as his nickname. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket, with an average of 52.31; this included five double centuries. In one-dayers, he averaged 39.16, with a strike rate of 71.23. He is one of the few Indians whose Test average is better at away than at home, averaging almost five runs more on foreign pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's Test average in abroad is 55.53, and his Test average at home is 50.76; his ODI average abroad is 37.93 and his ODI average at home is 43.11. Dravid averages 66.34 runs in Indian Test victories. and 50.69 runs in ODIs.\n\nDravid's sole Test wicket was of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test match against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs.\n\nDravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is a world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings played since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively.\n\nHe was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman, Dravid scored 50 runs not out in 22 balls (a strike rate of 227.27) against New Zealand in Hyderabad on 15 November 2003, the second fastest 50 among Indian batsmen. Only Ajit Agarkar's 67 runs off 21 balls is faster than that of Dravid.\n\nIn 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year award by the International Cricket Council (ICC).\n\nAfter reaching 10,000 Test runs milestone, he said, \"It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game.\"\n\nDravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is the fourth highest run scorer in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis.\n\nControversies\n\nBall-tampering incident\nIn January 2004, Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence, although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his match fee.\n\nIndian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that \"It was an innocent mistake\". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was \"just an accident\".\n\nCaptaincy\nRahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests.\n\nOne of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs not out with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. In this test match Sehwag scored triple century first time. He became the first Indian to score triple century in test with a score of 309.\n\nIn March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling it to draw the series 1–1. The defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch, which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings.\n\nAfter India failed to qualify for the final of the DLF Cup, Dravid, the skipper, was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.\n\nHe was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after his then IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh out of the eight teams that participated in the 2008 season.\n\nAchievements and awards\n\nNational honours\n 1998 – Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in cricket\n 2004 – Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian award\n2013 – Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award\n\nOther honours\n 1999 – CEAT International Cricketer of the World Cup\n 2000 – Dravid was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year.\n 2004 – ICC Cricketer of the year – Highest award in the ICC listings\n 2004 – ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year \n2004 – MTV Youth Icon of the Year \n 2006 – Captain of the ICC's Test Team\n 2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Dev Anand\n2012 – Don Bradman Award with Glenn McGrath\n2015 – Wisden India's Highest Impact Test Batsman\n2018 – ICC Hall of Fame\n\nPersonal life\n\nFamily\nOn 4 May 2003 he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. Vijeta Pendharkar is also from Deshastha Brahmin community as Dravid. They have two children: Samit, born in 2005, and Anvay, born in 2009. Dravid is fluent in Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and English.\n\nCommercial endorsements\nRahul Dravid has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Reebok (1996 – present), Pepsi (1997 present), Kissan (Unknown), Castrol (2001 – present), Hutch\n(2003), Karnataka Tourism (2004), Max Life (2005 – present), Bank of Baroda (2005 – present), Citizen (2006 – present), Skyline Construction (2006 – present), Sansui (2007), Gillette (2007 – present), Samsung (2002 – 2004), World Trade Center Noida (2013– present),\nCRED (2021-present).\n\nSocial commitments\n Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)\n UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign\n\nBiographies\n\nBooks\nTwo biographies have been written on Rahul Dravid and his career:\n Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004\n The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005\n A collection of articles, testimonials and interviews related to Dravid was released by ESPNcricinfo following his retirement. The book was titled Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel.\n\nSee also\n Sachin Tendulkar\n Sourav Ganguly\n VVS Laxman\n Virendra Sehwag\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n \n \n\nIndian cricketers\nIndia Test cricketers\nIndia One Day International cricketers\nIndia Twenty20 International cricketers\nIndia Test cricket captains\nWisden Cricketers of the Year\nKarnataka cricketers\nSouth Zone cricketers\nKent cricketers\nScotland cricketers\nACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers\nICC World XI One Day International cricketers\nWorld XI Test cricketers\nRoyal Challengers Bangalore cricketers\nCanterbury cricketers\nMarylebone Cricket Club cricketers\nRajasthan Royals cricketers\nIndia Blue cricketers\nCricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup\nCricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup\nCricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup\nRecipients of the Padma Shri in sports\n1973 births\nLiving people\nCricketers from Indore\nCricketers from Bangalore\nRecipients of the Arjuna Award\nInternational Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year\nMarathi people\nIndian cricket coaches\nRecipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports\nIndian cricket commentators\nWicket-keepers",
"Rahul Dravid is a retired Indian international cricketer. in both Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket in matches organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nicknamed \"The Wall\" for his ability of \"... fending off the fiercest, the fastest and the wiliest of bowlers around the world\", he scored 36 centuries (scores of 100 runs or more) in Test cricket and 12 in One Day Internationals (ODI) between his debut in 1996 and retirement in 2011. He was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000, as well as the ICC Test Player of the Year and ICC Player of the Year in 2004.\n\nDravid scored his first Test century in January 1997 against South Africa. In a man-of-the-match performance, he made 148 runs spanning nine hours and took India to their only draw of the series. He made centuries in both innings of a match when he scored 190 and 103 not out in the final Test of the 1998–99 series against New Zealand. He repeated the feat in March 2005 when he scored 110 and 135 against Pakistan in another man-of-the-match performance, leading India to victory in the second of the three-match series. Scoring 180 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 376 with VVS Laxman, in the Second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2001, Dravid helped lead India to victory by 171 runs despite being asked to follow-on by the Australians. His partnership with Laxman was the third-highest for the fifth wicket in Test cricket history. Dravid's highest Test score of 270, achieved in April 2004 in Rawalpindi, helped India to an innings victory against Pakistan. The performance was the fourth-highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He scored centuries against all Test playing nations and was the first cricketer to score centuries in all 10 Test playing nations.\n\nDravid's first ODI century was made against Pakistan in May 1997. He followed that with six centuries in 1999, including two in the 1999 World Cup (against Kenya and Sri Lanka); in the latter he was involved in a then-record 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly. His highest score of 153 was made the same year against New Zealand. His total came as part of a record second-wicket partnership of 331 with Sachin Tendulkar and led India to the second-highest ODI total at that time.\n\nKey\n\nTest centuries\n\nOne Day International centuries\n\nRahul Dravid centuries and results for India\n\nReferences\n\nSources\n Prabhudesai, Devendra (2005): The Nice Guy Who Finished First: A Biography of Rahul Dravid, Rupa Publications India. .\n Bal, Sambit & Banjar, Sanjay (2012): Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel, The Walt Disney Company India Pvt. Ltd. .\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\nIndian cricket lists\nDravid, Rahul"
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"Rahul Dravid",
"Golden years",
"At what age did Rahul begin playing cricket?",
"I don't know.",
"How many games did Dravid help lead his team to victory?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_ae935d6d2cbd4989b9af39d2c8b4f36c_1 | Was Dravid considered a great player by his teammates? | 3 | Was Rahul Dravid considered a great player by his teammates? | Rahul Dravid | As the new international season commenced, the first and foremost challenge for the newly appointed captain and vice-captain, Ganguly and Dravid, was to pull the team out of the shadows of the match fixing scandal. Indian team played 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy with vigour and showed a lot of character beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid played his part scoring 157 runs in 4 matches at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid played the first two matches of 2000-01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy and scored 85 runs in the 2nd match against Zimbabwe opening the innings before getting injured while fielding at slips forcing him to miss the rest of the tournament. India started off the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk inning of 49 ball 41 runs, including 5 fours and a six, chasing a target of 63 runs. However, Dravid's poor patch truly ended in the next Test series against Zimbabwe, which was also the first series for John Wright as the new Indian coach. Wright was instrumental in Dravid's association with Kent earlier this year. Dravid returned the favour by recommending his name to the BCCI for the post of national team coach. By now, Dravid had played 8 Tests since his last hundred against New Zealand at Mohali scoring just 350 runs at a paltry average of 23.33 without a single fifty plus inning. The Indian vice-captain ended the run drought and welcomed the new Indian coach with a double hundred - Dravid's first. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second inning guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 - highest batting average by an Indian in a Test series. Dravid scored just a solitary fifty in the second of the five match bilateral ODI series between India and Zimbabwe. However, the series proved to be a milestone in Dravid's career. Dravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the 5th match of the series as the regular captain Ganguly had to sit out due to one match suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39 run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain. CANNOTANSWER | Dravid had played 8 Tests since his last hundred against New Zealand at Mohali scoring just 350 runs at a paltry average of 23.33 | Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the under-19 team finished runners up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Known for his sound batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall.
Born in a Marathi family and raised in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.
As of December 2016, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. In 2004, after completing his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played. He has faced 31258 balls, which is the highest number of balls faced by any player in test cricket. He has also spent 44152 minutes at the crease, which is the highest time spent on crease by any player in test cricket. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are currently the highest scoring partnership in Test cricket history having scored 6920 runs combined when batting together for India.
In August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.
Rahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively.
In 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. Indian badminton player Prannoy Kumar, Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and young Golfer S. Chikkarangappa was part of the initial group of athletes to be mentored by Rahul Dravid. In July 2018, Dravid became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.
Early life
Dravid was born in a Marathi-Speaking Brahmin family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His family later moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, where he was raised. His mother tongue is Marathi. Dravid's father Sharad Dravid worked for a company that makes jams and preserves, giving rise to the later nickname Jammy. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore. Dravid has a younger brother named Vijay. He did his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore. He was selected to India's national cricket team while working towards an MBA at St Joseph's College of Business Administration. He is fluent in several languages: Marathi, Kannada, English and Hindi.
Formative years and domestic career
Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented Karnataka at the under-15, the under-17 and the under-19 levels. Former cricketer Keki Tarapore first noticed Dravid's talent while coaching at a summer camp in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dravid scored a century for his school team. He also played as wicket-keeper.
Dravid made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991, while still attending college. Playing alongside future India teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath against Maharashtra in Pune, he scored 82 runs in the match, which ended in a draw. He followed it up with a century against Bengal and three successive centuries after. However, Dravid's first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries and finished up with 380 runs at an average of 63.30, getting selected for the South Zone cricket team in the Duleep Trophy. Dravid's caught the national team selectors' eye with his good performances for India A in the home series against England A in 1994–95.
International career
Debut
Dravid, who had been knocking at the doors of Indian national cricket team for quite a while with his consistent performance in domestic cricket, received his first national call in October 1994, for the last two matches of the Wills World Series. However, he could not break into the playing eleven. He went back to the domestic circuit and kept knocking harder. So much so, that when the selectors announced the Indian team for the 1996 World Cup sans Dravid, an Indian daily newspaper carried a headline – "Rahul Dravid gets a raw deal". Dravid eventually made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the Singer Cup held in Singapore immediately after the 1996 World Cup, replacing Vinod Kambli. He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat, scoring just three runs before being dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan, but took two catches in the match. He followed it up with another failure in the next game scoring just four runs before getting run out against Pakistan.
In contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian squad touring England on the backdrop of a consistent performance in domestic cricket for five years. Fine performances in the tour games including fifties against Gloucestershire and Leicestershire failed to earn him a place in the team for the First Test. He finally made his Test debut at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series at the expense of injured senior batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar, who was suffering from an ankle injury, was to undergo a fitness test on the morning of the Second Test. Dravid had already been informed that he would play if Manjrekar fails the test. As Manjrekar failed the fitness test, ten minutes before the toss, Sandeep Patil, the then Indian coach, went up to Dravid to inform him that he was indeed going to make his debut that day. Patil recalled years later:
Coming in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships, first with another debutante Sourav Ganguly and then with Indian lower order, securing a vital first innings lead for his team. Dravid scored 95 runs before getting out to the bowling of Chris Lewis. He was just five runs short of a landmark debut hundred when he nicked a Lewis delivery to the keeper and walked even before umpire's decision. He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismiss Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Srinath. In the next tour game against British Universities, Dravid scored a hundred. He scored another fifty in the first innings of the Third Test. Dravid concluded a successful debut series with an impressive average of 62.33 from two Test matches.
1996–98: A tale of two formats
Dravid's early years in international cricket mirrored his international debut. He had contrasting fortunes in the long and the shorter format of the game. While he straightaway made a name for himself in Test cricket, he had to struggle quite a bit to make a mark in ODIs.
After a successful Test debut in England, Dravid played in the one-off Test against Australia in Delhi – his first Test in India. Batting at no. 6, he scored 40 runs in the first innings. Dravid batted at no. 3 position for the first time in the First Test of the three-match home series against South Africa in Ahmedabad in November 1996. He didn't do too well in the series scoring just 175 runs at a modest average of 29.16.
Two weeks later, India toured South Africa for a three–match Test series. Chasing a target of 395 runs in the First Test, Indian team bundled out meekly for 66 runs on the Durban pitch that provided excessive bounce and seam movement. Dravid, batting at no. 6, was the only Indian batsman who reached double figures in the innings scoring 27 not out. He was promoted to the no. 3 slot again in the second innings of the Second Test, a move that paid rich dividends in the ensuing Test. He almost won the Third Test for India with his maiden test hundred in the first innings scoring 148 runs and another 81 runs in the second innings at Wanderers before the thunderstorms, dim light and Cullinan's hundred saved the day for South Africa enabling them to draw the match. Dravid's performance in this Test earned him his first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. He top scored for India in the series with 277 runs at an average of 55.40.
Dravid continued in the same vein in the West Indies where he once again top scored for India in the five–match Test series aggregating 360 runs at an average of 72.00 including four fifties. 92 runs scored in the first innings of the fifth match in Georgetown earned him a joint Man of the Match award along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With this series, Dravid concluded a successful 1996/97 Test season, topping the international runs chart with 852 runs from 12 matches at an average of 50.11 with six fifties and one hundred.
Dravid continued his good run scoring seven fifties in the next eight Tests that included fifties in six consecutive innings (three each against Sri Lanka and Australia), becoming only the second Indian to do so after Gundappa Vishwanath. By the end of 1997/98 Test season, he had scored 15 fifties in 22 Tests which included four scores of nineties but just a solitary hundred.
The century drought came to an end in the 1998/99 Test season when he further raised the bar of his performance scoring 752 runs in seven Tests at an average of 62.66 that included four hundreds and one fifty and in the process topping the runs chart for India for the season. The first of those four hundreds came on the Zimbabwe tour. Dravid top scored in both the innings against Zimbabwe scoring 118 and 44 runs respectively however, India lost the one-off Test.
The Zimbabwe tour was followed by a tour to New Zealand. First Test having been abandoned without a ball being bowled, the series started for Dravid with the first duck of his Test career in the first innings of the Second Test and ended with hundreds in both the innings of the Third Test in Hamilton. He scored 190 and 103 not out in the first and the second innings respectively, becoming only the third Indian batsman, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to score a century in both innings of a Test match. Dravid topped the runs table for the series with 321 runs from two matches at an average of 107.00 but could not prevent India from losing the series 0–1.
Later that month, India played a two Test home series against Pakistan. Dravid didn't contribute much with the bat. India lost the First Test but won the Second Test in Delhi riding on Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul. Dravid played his part in the 10-wicket haul by taking a catch to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed who was Kumble's eighth victim of the innings. The Indo-Pak Test series was followed by the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship. Dravid couldn't do much with the bat as India went on to lose the riot-affected First Test of the championship against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. India went to Sri Lanka to play the Second Test of the championship. Dravid scored his fourth hundred of the season at Colombo in the first innings of the match. He also effected a brilliant run out of Russel Arnold during Sri Lankan innings fielding at short leg. On the fourth morning, Dravid got injured while fielding at the same position when the ball from Jayawardene's pull shot hit his face through the helmet grill. He didn't come out to bat in the second innings due to the injury. The match ended in a draw as India failed to qualify for the Finals of the championship.
In a stark contrast to his Test career, Dravid had to struggle a lot to make a mark in the ODIs. Between his ODI debut in April 1996 and the end of 1998 calendar year, Dravid regularly found himself in and out of the ODI team.
Dravid tasted first success of his ODI career in the 1996 'Friendship' Cup against Pakistan in the tough conditions of Toronto. He emerged as the highest scorer of the series with 220 runs in five matches at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of 68.53. He won his first ODI Man of the Match award for the 46 runs scored in the low scoring third game of the series. He top scored for India in the Standard Bank International One-Day Series 1996/97 in South Africa with 280 runs from eight games at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 60.73, the highlight being a Man of the Match award-winning performance (84 runs, one catch) in the Final of the series that came in a losing cause. He was the second highest run scorer for India in the four-match bilateral ODI series in the West Indies in 1996/97 with 121 runs at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 57.61. Dravid's maiden ODI hundred came in a losing cause in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup against Pakistan in Chennai. Dravid top scored for India in the quadrangular event with 189 runs from three games at an average of 94.50 and a strike rate of 75.60 however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the series.
However, Dravid's achievements in the ODIs were dwarfed by his failures in the shorter format of the game. 14 runs from two games in the 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup; 20 runs from two innings in the Singer World Series; 65 runs from four innings in the 1997 'Friendship' Cup; 88 runs from four games in the 1998 Coca-Cola Triangular Series including a 22-ball five runs and a 21-ball one run innings, both coming against Bangladesh; 32 runs from four games in the 1998 'Friendship' Cup; a slew of such poor performances often forced him to the sidelines of the India ODI squad. By the end of 1998, Dravid had scored 1709 runs in 65 ODIs at a humble average of 31.64 with a poor strike rate of 63.48.
By now, Dravid had been branded as a Test specialist. While he continued to score heavily in Test cricket, his poor strike rate in ODIs came under scanner. He drew criticism for not being able to adjust his style of play to the needs of ODI cricket, his lack of attacking capability and play big strokes. However, Dravid worked hard and re-tooled his game by increasing his range of strokes and adapting his batting style to suit the requirements of ODI cricket. He learned to pace his innings cleverly without going for the slogs.
Dravid's ODI renaissance began during the 1998/99 New Zealand tour. He scored a run-a-ball hundred in the first match of the bilateral ODI series that earned him his third Man of the Match award in ODIs. The hundred came in a losing cause. However, his effort of 51 runs from 71 balls in the Fourth ODI came in India's victory and earned him his second Man of the Match award of the series. He ended as the top scorer of the series with 309 runs from five games at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 84.65. Dravid scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in 1998/99 Pepsi Cup at Nagpur adding a record 236 runs for the 2nd wicket with Ganguly, who also scored a hundred in the match. Uncharacteristically, Dravid was the faster of the two scoring 116 of 118 deliveries. In the next match against Pakistan, he bowled four overs and took the wicket of Saeed Anwar, out caught behind by wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. This was his first wicket in international cricket.
Dravid warmed up for his debut World Cup with two fifties in the 1998–99 Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah, one each against England and Pakistan. Standing-in as the substitute wicket-keeper in the third match of the series for Nayan Mongia, who got injured during keeping, Dravid effected two dismissals. He first stumped Graeme Hick off Sunil Joshi's bowling, who became Dravid's first victim as a wicket-keeper, and then caught Neil Fairbrother off Ajay Jadeja's bowling. He top scored for India in the tournament, though his last ODI innings before the World Cup was a golden duck against Pakistan, in the Final of the series.
Debut World Cup success
Dravid announced his form in England hitting consecutive fifties against Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the warm-up games.
He made his World Cup debut against South Africa at Hove striking a half century, but scored just 13 in the next game against Zimbabwe. India lost both the games. Having lost the first two games, India needed to win the remaining three games of the first round to have any chance of advancing into the Super Six stage. Dravid put up a partnership of 237 runs with Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol – a World Cup record – and in the process hit his maiden World Cup hundred, helping India to a 94-run victory. India's designated keeper Mongia left the field at the end of 9th over during Kenyan innings, forcing Dravid to keep the wickets for the rest of the innings. In the absence of injured Nayan Mongia, Dravid played his first ODI as a designated keeper against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Dravid once again staged a record breaking partnership worth 318 runs – the first ever three hundred run partnership in ODI history – but this time with Sourav Ganguly, guiding India to a 157-run win. Dravid scored 145 runs from 129 balls with 17 fours and a six, becoming the second batsman in World Cup history to hit back-to-back hundreds. Dravid struck a fine fifty in the last group match as India defeated England to advance into the Super Six stage. Dravid scored 2, 61 & 29 in the three Super Six matches against Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand respectively. India failed to qualify for the semi-finals having lost to Australia and New Zealand but achieved a consolation victory against Pakistan in a tense game, what with the military conflict going on between the two countries in Kashmir at the same time. Dravid emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 461 runs from 8 games at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate of 85.52.
Dravid's post-World Cup campaign started on a poor note with just 40 runs coming in 4 games of Aiwa Cup in August 1999. He soon came into his own, top-scoring for India in two consecutive limited-overs series – the Singapore Challenge, the highlight being a hundred in the Final coming in a lost cause, and the DMC Cup, the highlight being a match winning effort (77 runs, 4 catches) in the series decider for which he received man-of-the-match award. Dravid topped the international runs chart for 1999 cricket season across all formats scoring 782 runs from 19 matches. By now, Dravid had started to keep wickets on an infrequent basis with India fielding him as designated wicket-keeper in five out of 10 ODIs played in the three events.
Dravid kick-started his post World Cup Test season with a decent outing against New Zealand in the 3-match home series. His best effort of the series came in the second innings of the First test at Mohali scoring 144, helping India salvage a draw after being bowled out for 83 runs in the First innings. This was Dravid's sixth test hundred but his first test hundred on Indian soil. Dravid did well in the 3–2 series win against New Zealand in the bilateral ODI series, scoring 240 runs in 5 games at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 83.62, ending as the second highest scorer in the series. His career best effort in ODIs came in this series in the second game at Hyderabad where he scored run-a-ball 153 runs which included 15 fours and two sixes. He featured in a 331-run partnership with Tendulkar, which was the highest partnership in ODI cricket history, a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken in 2015. In 1999, Dravid scored 1761 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 46.34 and a strike rate of 75.16 including 6 hundreds and 8 fifties and featured in two 300+ partnerships.
India toured Australia in December 1999 for a 3-match test series and a triangular ODI tournament. Although Dravid scored a hundred against Tasmania in the practice match, he failed miserably with the bat in the Test series as India slumped to a 0–3 whitewash. He did reasonably well in the 1999–2000 Carlton & United Series scoring 3 fifties in the triangular event however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the tournament.
Dravid's poor form in Tests continued as India suffered a 0–2 whitewash against South Africa in a home series. He had moderate success in the bilateral ODI series against South Africa. He contributed to India's 3–2 series win with 208 runs at an average of 41.60 which included 2 fifties and three wickets at an average of 22.66 topping the bowling average chart for the series. His career best bowling figure of 2/43 from nine overs in the First ODI at Kochi, was also the best bowling figure by any bowler in that particular match.
Rise through the ranks
In February 2000, Tendulkar's resignation from captaincy led to the promotion of Ganguly, the vice-captain then, as the new captain of the Indian team. In May 2000, while Dravid was busy playing county cricket in England, he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team announced for the Asia cup.
India did well in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. Indian team, coming out of the shadows of the infamous match fixing scandal, showed a lot of character under the new leadership of Ganguly and Dravid, beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid scored 157 runs in 4 matches of the tournament, at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid scored 85 runs in a match against Zimbabwe in the 2000–01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy while opening the innings but was forced to miss the rest of the tournament because of an injury.
India kick started the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk knock of 41 runs from 49 balls, including 5 fours and a six, while chasing a target of 63 runs. The ensuing test series against Zimbabwe was John Wright's first assignment as Indian coach. Dravid, who was instrumental in Wright's appointment as India's first foreign head coach, welcomed him with his maiden double hundred. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second, guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 – highest batting average by an Indian in a series across all formats.
Dravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the fifth match of the bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe in the absence of Ganguly who was serving suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39-run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain.
History at Eden
The Australian team toured India in February 2001 for what was being billed as the Final Frontier for Steve Waugh's all conquering men, who were coming on the back of 15 consecutive Test wins. Dravid failed in the first innings of the First Test but displayed strong resilience in Tendulkar's company in the second innings. Dravid's 196 ball long resistance finally ended when he got out bowled to Warne for 39 runs. Australians extended their winning streak to 16 Tests as they beat India convincingly by 10 wickets inside three days.
The Australian juggernaut seemed unstoppable as they looked on course towards their 17th consecutive victory in the Second Test at the Eden Gardens, when they bowled India out for meagre 171 in the first innings and enforced a follow-on after securing a massive lead of 274 runs. In the second innings, Laxman, who had scored a fine fifty in the first innings, was promoted to no. 3 position which had been Dravid's usual spot for quite sometime now, while Dravid, who had gotten out bowled to Warne for second time in a row in the first innings for just 25 runs, was relegated to no. 6 position. When Dravid joined Laxman in the middle on the third day of the Test, with scoreboard reading 232/4 and India still needing 42 runs to avoid an innings defeat, another convincing win for Australia looked inevitable. Instead, two of them staged one of the greatest fightbacks in cricketing history.
Dravid and Laxman played out the remaining time on the third day and whole of the fourth day, denying Australia any wicket on Day 4. Dravid, angered by the flak that the Indian team had been receiving lately in the media coverage, celebrated his hundred in an uncharacteristic fashion brandishing his bat at the press box. Eventually, Laxman got out on the fifth morning bringing the 376-runs partnership to an end. Dravid soon perished getting run out for 180 while trying to force the pace. Ganguly declared the innings at 657/7, setting Australia a target of 384 runs with 75 overs left in the match. An inspired team India bowled superbly to dismiss Australia for 212 in 68.3 overs. India won the match by 171 runs. This was only the third instance of a team winning a Test after following-on and India became the 2nd team to do so.
Dravid scored 81 runs in the first innings of the Third Test and took 4 catches in the match as India defeated Australia at Chennai in a nail biting finish to clinch the series 2–1. Dravid scored 80 in the first of the 5-match ODI series at his home ground as India won the match by 60 runs. He didn't do too well in the remaining 4 ODIs as Australia won the series 3–2. Dravid topped the averages for the 2000/01 Test season with 839 runs from six matches at an average of 104.87.
Dravid had a decent outing in Zimbabwe, scoring 137 runs from 134 balls in the First Tour game and aggregating 138 runs at an average of 69.00 from the drawn Test series. In the ensuing triangular ODI series, he aggregated 121 runs from 5 matches at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 101.68, the highlight being an unbeaten 72 off 64 balls, while chasing a target of 235 against Zimbabwe in the 3rd match of the series, guiding India to a 4-wicket win with four balls to spare. He was adjudged man of the match for his match winning knock.
On the next tour to Sri Lanka, India lost the first three matches of the triangular event. In the absence of suspended Ganguly, Dravid captained the side in the 4th match leading them to their first victory of the series. India won the next two matches to qualify for the Final. Dravid played crucial innings in all the three victories. Eventually, India lost the Final to Sri Lanka. He top scored for India in the series with 259 runs from seven matches at an average of 51.80 and a strike rate of 59.81. Reinstated to his usual no. 3 position in the absence of injured Laxman, Dravid top scored for India in the ensuing 3-Test series as well with 235 runs at an average of 47.00. The highlight for Dravid was 75 runs scored in the tough fourth innings chase of the Second Test – a crucial contribution to India's first Test win in Sri Lanka since 1993 despite the absence of key players like Tendulkar, Laxman, Srinath and Kumble.
Dravid had decent success in Standard Bank tri-series on South Africa tour, scoring 214 runs (including 3 fifties) at an average of 53.50 and a strike rate of 71.81. He also kept wickets in the final two ODIs of the series effecting 3 stumpings. The highlight for Dravid in the ensuing Test series came in the second innings of the Second Test. India, having failed to last hundred overs in any of the previous three innings in the series, needed to bat out four sessions in the Second Test to save the match. They started on a poor note losing their first wicket in the first over with no runs on the scoreboard. However, Dravid forged an important partnership of 171 runs with Dasgupta that lasted for 83.2 overs taking India to the brink of safety. Poor weather helped India salvage a draw as only 96.2 overs could be bowled in the innings. Dravid captained the team in the 'unofficial' Third test in the absence of injured Ganguly, which India lost by an innings margin.
By the end of the South African tour, Dravid had started experiencing problem in his right shoulder. Although he played the ensuing home test series against England, he pulled out of the six-match bilateral ODI series to undergo shoulder rehabilitation program in South Africa. He returned for the Zimbabwe's tour of India but performed below par, scoring a fifty each in the Test series and the bilateral ODI series.
2002–2006: Peak years
Dravid hit the peak form of his career in 2002. Between Season 2002 and Season 2006, Dravid was the second highest scorer overall and top scorer for India across formats, scoring 8,914 runs from 174 matches at an average of 54.02, including 19 hundreds.
Dravid had a decent outing in West Indies in 2002. The highlights for him included – hitting a hundred with a swollen jaw and helping India avoid the follow-on in the process at Georgetown in the drawn First Test; contributing with a fifty and four catches to India's victory in the Second Test at Port of Spain – India's first Test victory in West Indies since 1975–76; and another fifty in the drawn Fourth Test with a wicket to boot – that of Ridley Jacobs who was batting on 118. This was Dravid's only wicket in Test cricket. He played as India's designated keeper in the ODI series but didn't contribute much with the bat in the 2–1 series win.
A quartet of hundreds
India's tour of England in 2002 started with a triangular ODI event involving India, England and Sri Lanka. India emerged as the winners of the series beating England in the Final – their first victory after nine consecutive defeats in one-day finals. Dravid played as designated keeper in six out of seven matches effecting nine dismissals (6 catches, 3 stumpings) – most by a keeper in the series. He also did well with the bat aggregating 245 runs at an average of 49.00 including three fifties. His performance against Sri Lanka in fourth ODI (64 runs, 1 catch) earned him a man of the match award.
India lost the first of the four match Test series. Having conceded a 260 runs lead in the first innings of the Second Test at Nottingham, Indians were in a spot of bother. However, Dravid led the fightback in the second innings with a hundred as Indians managed to earn a draw.
Ganguly won the toss in the Third Test and took a bold decision to bat first on a gloomy overcast morning at Headingley on a pitch known to be traditionally conducive for fast and swing bowling. Having lost an early wicket, Dravid weathered the storm in company of Sanjay Bangar. They played cautiously, taking body blows on a pitch with uneven bounce. Dravid completed his second hundred of the series in the process. As the conditions became more and more conducive for batting, the Indian batsmen piled on England's misery. Indians declared the innings on 628/8 and then bowled England out twice to register their first test victory in England since 1986. Despite being outscored by Tendulkar, Dravid was awarded man of the match for his efforts. Dravid scored a double hundred in the drawn Fourth Test to notch up his second consecutive man of the match award of the series. Christopher Martin-Jenkins noted during the Fourth Test: Dravid aggregated 602 runs in the series from four matches at an average of 100.33, including three hundreds and a fifty and was adjudged joint man of the series along with Michael Vaughan.
India jointly shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Dravid contributed to India's successful campaign with 120 runs at an average of 60.00 and five dismissals behind the wicket. Dravid scored a hundred in the First Test of the three match home series against West Indies becoming the first Indian batsman to score hundreds in four consecutive Test innings but had to retire soon after owing to severe cramps. Dravid did well in the subsequent bilateral 7-match ODI series aggregating 300 runs at an average of 75.00 and a strike rate of 89.82 including one hundred and two fifties. He also effected 7 dismissals (6 catches, 1 stumping) in the series. India trailing 1–2, needed 325 runs to win the Fourth ODI and level the series. Dravid scored a hundred leading India to a successful chase. He once again scored a crucial fifty in the Sixth ODI as India once again leveled the series after trailing 2–3. India, however, lost the last match to lose the series 3–4.
Dravid top scored for India in the two-match Test series in New Zealand as India slumped to a whitewash. He played as designated keeper in six of the 7-match bilateral ODI series and effected seven dismissals but fared poorly with the bat as India were handed a 2-5 drubbing by the New Zealand.
2003 Cricket World Cup
Dravid arrived in South Africa with the Indian squad to participate in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in the capacity of first-choice keeper-batsman as part of their seven batsmen-four bowlers strategy – an experiment that had brought success to the team in the past year. The idea was that making Dravid keep wickets allowed India to accommodate an extra specialist batsman. The strategy worked out well for India in the World Cup. India recovered from a less than convincing victory against minnows Netherlands and a loss to Australia in the league stage and embarked on a dream run winning eight consecutive matches to qualify for the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1983. India eventually lost the Final to Australia ending as runner-up in the tournament. Dravid contributed to India's campaign with 318 runs at an average of 63.60 and 16 dismissals (15 catches, 1 stumping). Highlights for Dravid in the tournament included a fifty against England, 44 not out against Pakistan in a successful chase and an unbeaten fifty in another successful chase against New Zealand.
Dravid topped the international runs chart for 2003/04 cricket season across formats aggregating 1993 runs from 31 matches at an average of 64.29 including three double hundreds. First of those came against New Zealand in the first of the two-test home series at Ahmedabad. Dravid scored 222 runs in the first innings and 73 runs in the second innings receiving a man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid captained Indian Test Team for the first time in the second game of the series at Mohali in the absence of Ganguly. Both the matches ended in a draw. Dravid top scored in the series with 313 runs at an average of 78.25. India next participated in TVS cup alongside New Zealand and Australia. India lost to Australia in the Final. Dravid scored two fifties in the series but the highlight was his fifty against New Zealand in the ninth match that came in just 22 balls – second fastest fifty by an Indian.
An Eden encore
After earning a draw in the first of the four-match Test series in Australia, Indians found themselves reeling at 85/4 in the Second Test at Adelaide after Australia had piled 556 runs in the first innings when Laxman joined Dravid in the middle. They batted for 93.5 overs bringing about their second 300-run partnership adding 303 runs together before Laxman perished for 148 runs. However, Dravid continued to complete his second double hundred of the season. He was the last man out for 233 runs as India conceded a marginal first innings lead of 33 runs to Australia. India bowled Australia out for paltry score of 196 riding on Agarkar's six-wicket haul, and were set a target of 230 runs to win the match. Dravid helped India tread through a tricky chase with an unbeaten fifty as India registered their first test victory in Australia since 1980/81 to go up 1–0 in the series. This was the first time that Australians were 0-1 down in a home series since 1994. Dravid won the man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid registered a score of ninety each in the next two tests as Australia leveled the series 1–1. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 619 runs at an average of 123.80 and was awarded player of the series for his efforts.
Dravid did moderately well in the ensuing VB series with three fifties in the league stage, all of which came in winning cause. However, India lost the best-of-three finals to Australia 2–0. Dravid was fined half his match fee for applying cough lozenge on the ball during a match in the series against Zimbabwe – an act that was claimed to be an innocent mistake by coach John Wright.
India visited Pakistan in March 2004 to participate in a bilateral Test series for the first time since 1989/90. Prior to the Test series, India participated and won the 5-match ODI series 3–2. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 73.59. Dravid scored 99 runs in the First ODI helping India post an imposing total of 349. He also took the important catch of threatening Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting on 122, as India went on to win the match by five runs. When Indians were trailing in the series 1–2, Dravid helped India level the series with an unbeaten fifty during a successful chase in the Fourth ODI.
Captaincy
Dravid captained India in the first two tests in the absence of injured Ganguly and led India to their first-ever Test victory in Pakistan. Dravid, standing in only his second test as team's captain, took a bold and controversial decision during First Test at Multan that divided the cricket fraternity. Pakistani cricketers had been on field for 150+ overs as India posted a total in excess of 600 runs in the first innings. Dravid, who wanted to have a crack at the tired Pakistani batsmen in the final hour of second day's play, declared Indian innings with Tendulkar batting at 194, just six runs short of his double century. While some praised the team before personal milestones approach of the Indian captain, most criticized Dravid's timing of declaration as there were no pressing concerns and there was ample time left in the match to try and bowl Pakistan out twice. While Tendulkar was admittedly disappointed, any rumours of rift between him and Dravid were quashed by both the cricketers and the team management, who claimed that the matter had been discussed and sorted amicably behind closed doors. India eventually went on to win the match by innings margin. Pakistan leveled the series beating India in the Second Test. Dravid slammed a double hundred in the Third Test at Rawalpindi – his third double hundred of the season. He scored 270 runs – his career best performance – before getting out to reverse sweep trying to force the pace. India went on to win the match and the series – their first series victory outside India since 1993. Dravid was adjudged man of the match for his effort.
Dravid was appointed the captain for the Indian team for 2007 World Cup, where India had an unsuccessful campaign.
During India's unsuccessful tour of England in 2011, in which their 4–0 loss cost them the top rank in Test cricket, Dravid made three centuries.
2011 Tour of England
Having regained his form on the tour to West Indies, where he scored a match-winning hundred in Sabina park, Jamaica, Dravid then toured England in what was billed as the series which would decide the World No. 1 ranking in tests.
In the first test at Lord's, in reply to England's 474, Dravid scored an unbeaten 103, his first hundred at the ground where he debuted in 1996. He received scant support from his teammates as India were bowled out for 286 and lost the test. The 2nd test at Trentbridge, Nottingham again saw Dravid in brilliant form. Sent out to open the batting in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir, he scored his second successive hundred. His 117 though, again came in a losing cause, as a collapse of 6 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings led to a massive defeat by 319 runs. Dravid failed in both innings in the third test at Birmingham, as India lost by an innings and 242 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their history. However, he came back brilliantly in the fourth and final match at The Oval. Again opening the batting in place of Gambhir, he scored an unbeaten 146 out of India's total of 300, carrying his bat through the innings. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as India lost the match, completing a 0–4 whitewash.
In all, he scored 461 runs in the four matches at an average of 76.83 with three hundreds. He accounted for over 26% of India's runs in the series and was named India's man of the series by England coach Andy Flower. His performance in the series was met with widespread admiration and was hailed by some as one of his finest ever series
Retirement
Rahul Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 2009, but was selected again for an ODI series in England in 2011, surprising even Dravid himself since, although he had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he had not expected to be recalled. After being selected, he announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the series. He played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 16 September 2011, scoring 69 runs from 79 balls before being bowled by Graeme Swann. His last limited-overs international match was his debut T20I match; he announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.
Dravid announced his retirement from Test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, after the 2011–12 tour of Australia, but he said that he would captain the Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.
In July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.
Coaching
Towards the end of his playing career, Dravid took on a role as mentor of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, officially taking over in 2014. During this time, he also became involved with the Indian national team, serving as mentor for the team's tour of England in 2014. After leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the 2015 IPL season, he was appointed as the head coach of the India U-19 and India A teams. Dravid achieved immense success as coach, with the U-19s reaching the finals of the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Two years later, the team went on to win the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, beating Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup, the most by any national side. Dravid was credited with bringing up future national team players including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Alongside his coaching roles, Dravid took on several mentor roles, including at the Delhi Daredevils IPL team.
In July 2019, following his four-year stint as coach of the junior teams, Dravid was appointed Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He was in charge of "overseeing all cricket related activities at NCA was involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA". As head of NCA, he was widely praised for developing a steady supply of talent to the senior team and revamping player fitness and rehabilitation regiments.
In November 2021, he was appointed as head coach of the Indian national cricket team.
County stint
Dravid had always been keen on further honing his batting skills in testing English conditions by playing in county cricket. He had discussed about the prospects regarding the same with John Wright, the former New Zealand cricketer and incumbent Kent coach, during India's 1998–99 tour of New Zealand. Wright was particularly impressed with Dravid's performance on that tour, especially his twin hundreds at Hamilton. The talks finally materialized and Dravid made his county debut for Kent in April 2000. His co-debutante Ganguly made his county debuted in the same match, albeit for the opposite team.
Kent offer had come as a welcome change for Dravid. There was too much negativity surrounding Indian cricket marred by match fixing controversy. Dravid himself had been struggling to score runs in Tests for quite some time now. The county stint gave him a chance to "get away to a new environment" and "relax". The wide variety of pitches and weather conditions in England and a full season of intense county cricket against professional cricketers gave him a chance to further his cricketing education and learn things about his game.
Dravid made the most of this opportunity. In his 2nd game for Kent, Dravid scored a fluid 182 propelling them to an innings and 163 runs victory over the touring Zimbabwe side. Out of 7 first class tour games that Zimbabwe played on that tour, Kent was the only team that managed to beat them. Dravid hit another fifty in a draw against Surrey. The newly appointed vice-captain had to leave the county championship temporarily, missing two championship games and two one day games, to fulfill his national commitment. Indian team, Dravid included, fared poorly in the Asia cup and failed to qualify for the Final. Subsequently, Dravid returned to England to resume his county sojourn with Kent.
In July 2000, Kent's away match against Hampshire at Portsmouth was billed as a showdown between two great cricketers- Warne and Dravid. Dravid came out on top. On a dustbowl, tailor-made to suit home team spinners, Warne took 4 wickets but could not take the all important wicket of Dravid. Coming in to bat at 15/2, Dravid faced 295 balls scoring 137 runs – his maiden hundred in county championships. Dravid scored 73 not out in the 2nd innings guiding Kent to a six wicket victory as Warne went wicketless.
In their last county game of the season, Kent needed one bonus point to prevent themselves from being relegated to the Second Division. Dravid made sure they stay put in the First Division by fetching that one bonus point with an inning of 77 runs.
Dravid concluded a successful stint with Kent aggregating 1221 runs from 16 first class matches(15 county games and 1 tour game against Zimbabwe) at an average of 55.50 including 2 hundreds and 8 fifties. He shouldered Kent's batting single-handedly as the second best Kent batsman during the same period, Paul Nixon, scored just 567 runs at an average of 33.35 in 17 matches. Dravid contributed to Kent's county campaign not just with the bat but also with his fielding and bowling taking 14 catches and 4 wickets at an average of 32.00.
Indian Premier League and Champions League
Rahul Dravid played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2008, 2009 and 2010. Later he played for Rajasthan Royals and led it to finals of Champions League T20 in 2013, and play-offs of Indian Premier League in 2013. Dravid announced retirement from Twenty20 after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 in September–October 2013.
Playing style
Dravid was known for his technique, and has been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team. In the beginning, he was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However, he later scored consistently in ODIs as well, earning him the ICC Player of the Year award. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements is now used as his nickname. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket, with an average of 52.31; this included five double centuries. In one-dayers, he averaged 39.16, with a strike rate of 71.23. He is one of the few Indians whose Test average is better at away than at home, averaging almost five runs more on foreign pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's Test average in abroad is 55.53, and his Test average at home is 50.76; his ODI average abroad is 37.93 and his ODI average at home is 43.11. Dravid averages 66.34 runs in Indian Test victories. and 50.69 runs in ODIs.
Dravid's sole Test wicket was of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test match against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs.
Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is a world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings played since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively.
He was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman, Dravid scored 50 runs not out in 22 balls (a strike rate of 227.27) against New Zealand in Hyderabad on 15 November 2003, the second fastest 50 among Indian batsmen. Only Ajit Agarkar's 67 runs off 21 balls is faster than that of Dravid.
In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year award by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
After reaching 10,000 Test runs milestone, he said, "It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."
Dravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is the fourth highest run scorer in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis.
Controversies
Ball-tampering incident
In January 2004, Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence, although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his match fee.
Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident".
Captaincy
Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests.
One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs not out with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. In this test match Sehwag scored triple century first time. He became the first Indian to score triple century in test with a score of 309.
In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling it to draw the series 1–1. The defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch, which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings.
After India failed to qualify for the final of the DLF Cup, Dravid, the skipper, was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.
He was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after his then IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh out of the eight teams that participated in the 2008 season.
Achievements and awards
National honours
1998 – Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in cricket
2004 – Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian award
2013 – Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award
Other honours
1999 – CEAT International Cricketer of the World Cup
2000 – Dravid was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
2004 – ICC Cricketer of the year – Highest award in the ICC listings
2004 – ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year
2004 – MTV Youth Icon of the Year
2006 – Captain of the ICC's Test Team
2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Dev Anand
2012 – Don Bradman Award with Glenn McGrath
2015 – Wisden India's Highest Impact Test Batsman
2018 – ICC Hall of Fame
Personal life
Family
On 4 May 2003 he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. Vijeta Pendharkar is also from Deshastha Brahmin community as Dravid. They have two children: Samit, born in 2005, and Anvay, born in 2009. Dravid is fluent in Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and English.
Commercial endorsements
Rahul Dravid has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Reebok (1996 – present), Pepsi (1997 present), Kissan (Unknown), Castrol (2001 – present), Hutch
(2003), Karnataka Tourism (2004), Max Life (2005 – present), Bank of Baroda (2005 – present), Citizen (2006 – present), Skyline Construction (2006 – present), Sansui (2007), Gillette (2007 – present), Samsung (2002 – 2004), World Trade Center Noida (2013– present),
CRED (2021-present).
Social commitments
Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)
UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign
Biographies
Books
Two biographies have been written on Rahul Dravid and his career:
Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004
The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005
A collection of articles, testimonials and interviews related to Dravid was released by ESPNcricinfo following his retirement. The book was titled Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel.
See also
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman
Virendra Sehwag
References
External links
Indian cricketers
India Test cricketers
India One Day International cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
India Test cricket captains
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Karnataka cricketers
South Zone cricketers
Kent cricketers
Scotland cricketers
ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers
ICC World XI One Day International cricketers
World XI Test cricketers
Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers
Canterbury cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Rajasthan Royals cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
1973 births
Living people
Cricketers from Indore
Cricketers from Bangalore
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year
Marathi people
Indian cricket coaches
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports
Indian cricket commentators
Wicket-keepers | false | [
"Rahul Dravid is a retired Indian international cricketer. in both Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket in matches organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nicknamed \"The Wall\" for his ability of \"... fending off the fiercest, the fastest and the wiliest of bowlers around the world\", he scored 36 centuries (scores of 100 runs or more) in Test cricket and 12 in One Day Internationals (ODI) between his debut in 1996 and retirement in 2011. He was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000, as well as the ICC Test Player of the Year and ICC Player of the Year in 2004.\n\nDravid scored his first Test century in January 1997 against South Africa. In a man-of-the-match performance, he made 148 runs spanning nine hours and took India to their only draw of the series. He made centuries in both innings of a match when he scored 190 and 103 not out in the final Test of the 1998–99 series against New Zealand. He repeated the feat in March 2005 when he scored 110 and 135 against Pakistan in another man-of-the-match performance, leading India to victory in the second of the three-match series. Scoring 180 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 376 with VVS Laxman, in the Second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2001, Dravid helped lead India to victory by 171 runs despite being asked to follow-on by the Australians. His partnership with Laxman was the third-highest for the fifth wicket in Test cricket history. Dravid's highest Test score of 270, achieved in April 2004 in Rawalpindi, helped India to an innings victory against Pakistan. The performance was the fourth-highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He scored centuries against all Test playing nations and was the first cricketer to score centuries in all 10 Test playing nations.\n\nDravid's first ODI century was made against Pakistan in May 1997. He followed that with six centuries in 1999, including two in the 1999 World Cup (against Kenya and Sri Lanka); in the latter he was involved in a then-record 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly. His highest score of 153 was made the same year against New Zealand. His total came as part of a record second-wicket partnership of 331 with Sachin Tendulkar and led India to the second-highest ODI total at that time.\n\nKey\n\nTest centuries\n\nOne Day International centuries\n\nRahul Dravid centuries and results for India\n\nReferences\n\nSources\n Prabhudesai, Devendra (2005): The Nice Guy Who Finished First: A Biography of Rahul Dravid, Rupa Publications India. .\n Bal, Sambit & Banjar, Sanjay (2012): Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel, The Walt Disney Company India Pvt. Ltd. .\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\nIndian cricket lists\nDravid, Rahul",
"Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the under-19 team finished runners up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Known for his sound batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall.\n\nBorn in a Marathi family and raised in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.\n\nAs of December 2016, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. In 2004, after completing his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played. He has faced 31258 balls, which is the highest number of balls faced by any player in test cricket. He has also spent 44152 minutes at the crease, which is the highest time spent on crease by any player in test cricket. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are currently the highest scoring partnership in Test cricket history having scored 6920 runs combined when batting together for India.\n\nIn August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.\n\nRahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively.\n\nIn 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. Indian badminton player Prannoy Kumar, Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and young Golfer S. Chikkarangappa was part of the initial group of athletes to be mentored by Rahul Dravid. In July 2018, Dravid became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.\n\nEarly life\nDravid was born in a Marathi-Speaking Brahmin family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His family later moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, where he was raised. His mother tongue is Marathi. Dravid's father Sharad Dravid worked for a company that makes jams and preserves, giving rise to the later nickname Jammy. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore. Dravid has a younger brother named Vijay. He did his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore. He was selected to India's national cricket team while working towards an MBA at St Joseph's College of Business Administration. He is fluent in several languages: Marathi, Kannada, English and Hindi.\n\nFormative years and domestic career\nDravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented Karnataka at the under-15, the under-17 and the under-19 levels. Former cricketer Keki Tarapore first noticed Dravid's talent while coaching at a summer camp in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dravid scored a century for his school team. He also played as wicket-keeper.\n\nDravid made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991, while still attending college. Playing alongside future India teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath against Maharashtra in Pune, he scored 82 runs in the match, which ended in a draw. He followed it up with a century against Bengal and three successive centuries after. However, Dravid's first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries and finished up with 380 runs at an average of 63.30, getting selected for the South Zone cricket team in the Duleep Trophy. Dravid's caught the national team selectors' eye with his good performances for India A in the home series against England A in 1994–95.\n\nInternational career\n\nDebut\nDravid, who had been knocking at the doors of Indian national cricket team for quite a while with his consistent performance in domestic cricket, received his first national call in October 1994, for the last two matches of the Wills World Series. However, he could not break into the playing eleven. He went back to the domestic circuit and kept knocking harder. So much so, that when the selectors announced the Indian team for the 1996 World Cup sans Dravid, an Indian daily newspaper carried a headline – \"Rahul Dravid gets a raw deal\". Dravid eventually made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the Singer Cup held in Singapore immediately after the 1996 World Cup, replacing Vinod Kambli. He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat, scoring just three runs before being dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan, but took two catches in the match. He followed it up with another failure in the next game scoring just four runs before getting run out against Pakistan.\n\nIn contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian squad touring England on the backdrop of a consistent performance in domestic cricket for five years. Fine performances in the tour games including fifties against Gloucestershire and Leicestershire failed to earn him a place in the team for the First Test. He finally made his Test debut at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series at the expense of injured senior batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar, who was suffering from an ankle injury, was to undergo a fitness test on the morning of the Second Test. Dravid had already been informed that he would play if Manjrekar fails the test. As Manjrekar failed the fitness test, ten minutes before the toss, Sandeep Patil, the then Indian coach, went up to Dravid to inform him that he was indeed going to make his debut that day. Patil recalled years later:\n\nComing in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships, first with another debutante Sourav Ganguly and then with Indian lower order, securing a vital first innings lead for his team. Dravid scored 95 runs before getting out to the bowling of Chris Lewis. He was just five runs short of a landmark debut hundred when he nicked a Lewis delivery to the keeper and walked even before umpire's decision. He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismiss Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Srinath. In the next tour game against British Universities, Dravid scored a hundred. He scored another fifty in the first innings of the Third Test. Dravid concluded a successful debut series with an impressive average of 62.33 from two Test matches.\n\n1996–98: A tale of two formats\nDravid's early years in international cricket mirrored his international debut. He had contrasting fortunes in the long and the shorter format of the game. While he straightaway made a name for himself in Test cricket, he had to struggle quite a bit to make a mark in ODIs.\n\nAfter a successful Test debut in England, Dravid played in the one-off Test against Australia in Delhi – his first Test in India. Batting at no. 6, he scored 40 runs in the first innings. Dravid batted at no. 3 position for the first time in the First Test of the three-match home series against South Africa in Ahmedabad in November 1996. He didn't do too well in the series scoring just 175 runs at a modest average of 29.16.\n\nTwo weeks later, India toured South Africa for a three–match Test series. Chasing a target of 395 runs in the First Test, Indian team bundled out meekly for 66 runs on the Durban pitch that provided excessive bounce and seam movement. Dravid, batting at no. 6, was the only Indian batsman who reached double figures in the innings scoring 27 not out. He was promoted to the no. 3 slot again in the second innings of the Second Test, a move that paid rich dividends in the ensuing Test. He almost won the Third Test for India with his maiden test hundred in the first innings scoring 148 runs and another 81 runs in the second innings at Wanderers before the thunderstorms, dim light and Cullinan's hundred saved the day for South Africa enabling them to draw the match. Dravid's performance in this Test earned him his first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. He top scored for India in the series with 277 runs at an average of 55.40.\n\nDravid continued in the same vein in the West Indies where he once again top scored for India in the five–match Test series aggregating 360 runs at an average of 72.00 including four fifties. 92 runs scored in the first innings of the fifth match in Georgetown earned him a joint Man of the Match award along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With this series, Dravid concluded a successful 1996/97 Test season, topping the international runs chart with 852 runs from 12 matches at an average of 50.11 with six fifties and one hundred.\n\nDravid continued his good run scoring seven fifties in the next eight Tests that included fifties in six consecutive innings (three each against Sri Lanka and Australia), becoming only the second Indian to do so after Gundappa Vishwanath. By the end of 1997/98 Test season, he had scored 15 fifties in 22 Tests which included four scores of nineties but just a solitary hundred.\n\nThe century drought came to an end in the 1998/99 Test season when he further raised the bar of his performance scoring 752 runs in seven Tests at an average of 62.66 that included four hundreds and one fifty and in the process topping the runs chart for India for the season. The first of those four hundreds came on the Zimbabwe tour. Dravid top scored in both the innings against Zimbabwe scoring 118 and 44 runs respectively however, India lost the one-off Test.\n\nThe Zimbabwe tour was followed by a tour to New Zealand. First Test having been abandoned without a ball being bowled, the series started for Dravid with the first duck of his Test career in the first innings of the Second Test and ended with hundreds in both the innings of the Third Test in Hamilton. He scored 190 and 103 not out in the first and the second innings respectively, becoming only the third Indian batsman, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to score a century in both innings of a Test match. Dravid topped the runs table for the series with 321 runs from two matches at an average of 107.00 but could not prevent India from losing the series 0–1.\n\nLater that month, India played a two Test home series against Pakistan. Dravid didn't contribute much with the bat. India lost the First Test but won the Second Test in Delhi riding on Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul. Dravid played his part in the 10-wicket haul by taking a catch to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed who was Kumble's eighth victim of the innings. The Indo-Pak Test series was followed by the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship. Dravid couldn't do much with the bat as India went on to lose the riot-affected First Test of the championship against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. India went to Sri Lanka to play the Second Test of the championship. Dravid scored his fourth hundred of the season at Colombo in the first innings of the match. He also effected a brilliant run out of Russel Arnold during Sri Lankan innings fielding at short leg. On the fourth morning, Dravid got injured while fielding at the same position when the ball from Jayawardene's pull shot hit his face through the helmet grill. He didn't come out to bat in the second innings due to the injury. The match ended in a draw as India failed to qualify for the Finals of the championship.\n\nIn a stark contrast to his Test career, Dravid had to struggle a lot to make a mark in the ODIs. Between his ODI debut in April 1996 and the end of 1998 calendar year, Dravid regularly found himself in and out of the ODI team.\n\nDravid tasted first success of his ODI career in the 1996 'Friendship' Cup against Pakistan in the tough conditions of Toronto. He emerged as the highest scorer of the series with 220 runs in five matches at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of 68.53. He won his first ODI Man of the Match award for the 46 runs scored in the low scoring third game of the series. He top scored for India in the Standard Bank International One-Day Series 1996/97 in South Africa with 280 runs from eight games at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 60.73, the highlight being a Man of the Match award-winning performance (84 runs, one catch) in the Final of the series that came in a losing cause. He was the second highest run scorer for India in the four-match bilateral ODI series in the West Indies in 1996/97 with 121 runs at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 57.61. Dravid's maiden ODI hundred came in a losing cause in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup against Pakistan in Chennai. Dravid top scored for India in the quadrangular event with 189 runs from three games at an average of 94.50 and a strike rate of 75.60 however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the series.\n\nHowever, Dravid's achievements in the ODIs were dwarfed by his failures in the shorter format of the game. 14 runs from two games in the 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup; 20 runs from two innings in the Singer World Series; 65 runs from four innings in the 1997 'Friendship' Cup; 88 runs from four games in the 1998 Coca-Cola Triangular Series including a 22-ball five runs and a 21-ball one run innings, both coming against Bangladesh; 32 runs from four games in the 1998 'Friendship' Cup; a slew of such poor performances often forced him to the sidelines of the India ODI squad. By the end of 1998, Dravid had scored 1709 runs in 65 ODIs at a humble average of 31.64 with a poor strike rate of 63.48.\n\nBy now, Dravid had been branded as a Test specialist. While he continued to score heavily in Test cricket, his poor strike rate in ODIs came under scanner. He drew criticism for not being able to adjust his style of play to the needs of ODI cricket, his lack of attacking capability and play big strokes. However, Dravid worked hard and re-tooled his game by increasing his range of strokes and adapting his batting style to suit the requirements of ODI cricket. He learned to pace his innings cleverly without going for the slogs.\n\nDravid's ODI renaissance began during the 1998/99 New Zealand tour. He scored a run-a-ball hundred in the first match of the bilateral ODI series that earned him his third Man of the Match award in ODIs. The hundred came in a losing cause. However, his effort of 51 runs from 71 balls in the Fourth ODI came in India's victory and earned him his second Man of the Match award of the series. He ended as the top scorer of the series with 309 runs from five games at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 84.65. Dravid scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in 1998/99 Pepsi Cup at Nagpur adding a record 236 runs for the 2nd wicket with Ganguly, who also scored a hundred in the match. Uncharacteristically, Dravid was the faster of the two scoring 116 of 118 deliveries. In the next match against Pakistan, he bowled four overs and took the wicket of Saeed Anwar, out caught behind by wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. This was his first wicket in international cricket.\n\nDravid warmed up for his debut World Cup with two fifties in the 1998–99 Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah, one each against England and Pakistan. Standing-in as the substitute wicket-keeper in the third match of the series for Nayan Mongia, who got injured during keeping, Dravid effected two dismissals. He first stumped Graeme Hick off Sunil Joshi's bowling, who became Dravid's first victim as a wicket-keeper, and then caught Neil Fairbrother off Ajay Jadeja's bowling. He top scored for India in the tournament, though his last ODI innings before the World Cup was a golden duck against Pakistan, in the Final of the series.\n\nDebut World Cup success\n\nDravid announced his form in England hitting consecutive fifties against Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the warm-up games.\n\nHe made his World Cup debut against South Africa at Hove striking a half century, but scored just 13 in the next game against Zimbabwe. India lost both the games. Having lost the first two games, India needed to win the remaining three games of the first round to have any chance of advancing into the Super Six stage. Dravid put up a partnership of 237 runs with Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol – a World Cup record – and in the process hit his maiden World Cup hundred, helping India to a 94-run victory. India's designated keeper Mongia left the field at the end of 9th over during Kenyan innings, forcing Dravid to keep the wickets for the rest of the innings. In the absence of injured Nayan Mongia, Dravid played his first ODI as a designated keeper against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Dravid once again staged a record breaking partnership worth 318 runs – the first ever three hundred run partnership in ODI history – but this time with Sourav Ganguly, guiding India to a 157-run win. Dravid scored 145 runs from 129 balls with 17 fours and a six, becoming the second batsman in World Cup history to hit back-to-back hundreds. Dravid struck a fine fifty in the last group match as India defeated England to advance into the Super Six stage. Dravid scored 2, 61 & 29 in the three Super Six matches against Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand respectively. India failed to qualify for the semi-finals having lost to Australia and New Zealand but achieved a consolation victory against Pakistan in a tense game, what with the military conflict going on between the two countries in Kashmir at the same time. Dravid emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 461 runs from 8 games at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate of 85.52.\n\nDravid's post-World Cup campaign started on a poor note with just 40 runs coming in 4 games of Aiwa Cup in August 1999. He soon came into his own, top-scoring for India in two consecutive limited-overs series – the Singapore Challenge, the highlight being a hundred in the Final coming in a lost cause, and the DMC Cup, the highlight being a match winning effort (77 runs, 4 catches) in the series decider for which he received man-of-the-match award. Dravid topped the international runs chart for 1999 cricket season across all formats scoring 782 runs from 19 matches. By now, Dravid had started to keep wickets on an infrequent basis with India fielding him as designated wicket-keeper in five out of 10 ODIs played in the three events.\n\nDravid kick-started his post World Cup Test season with a decent outing against New Zealand in the 3-match home series. His best effort of the series came in the second innings of the First test at Mohali scoring 144, helping India salvage a draw after being bowled out for 83 runs in the First innings. This was Dravid's sixth test hundred but his first test hundred on Indian soil. Dravid did well in the 3–2 series win against New Zealand in the bilateral ODI series, scoring 240 runs in 5 games at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 83.62, ending as the second highest scorer in the series. His career best effort in ODIs came in this series in the second game at Hyderabad where he scored run-a-ball 153 runs which included 15 fours and two sixes. He featured in a 331-run partnership with Tendulkar, which was the highest partnership in ODI cricket history, a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken in 2015. In 1999, Dravid scored 1761 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 46.34 and a strike rate of 75.16 including 6 hundreds and 8 fifties and featured in two 300+ partnerships.\n\nIndia toured Australia in December 1999 for a 3-match test series and a triangular ODI tournament. Although Dravid scored a hundred against Tasmania in the practice match, he failed miserably with the bat in the Test series as India slumped to a 0–3 whitewash. He did reasonably well in the 1999–2000 Carlton & United Series scoring 3 fifties in the triangular event however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the tournament.\n\nDravid's poor form in Tests continued as India suffered a 0–2 whitewash against South Africa in a home series. He had moderate success in the bilateral ODI series against South Africa. He contributed to India's 3–2 series win with 208 runs at an average of 41.60 which included 2 fifties and three wickets at an average of 22.66 topping the bowling average chart for the series. His career best bowling figure of 2/43 from nine overs in the First ODI at Kochi, was also the best bowling figure by any bowler in that particular match.\n\nRise through the ranks\nIn February 2000, Tendulkar's resignation from captaincy led to the promotion of Ganguly, the vice-captain then, as the new captain of the Indian team. In May 2000, while Dravid was busy playing county cricket in England, he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team announced for the Asia cup.\n\nIndia did well in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. Indian team, coming out of the shadows of the infamous match fixing scandal, showed a lot of character under the new leadership of Ganguly and Dravid, beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid scored 157 runs in 4 matches of the tournament, at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid scored 85 runs in a match against Zimbabwe in the 2000–01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy while opening the innings but was forced to miss the rest of the tournament because of an injury.\n\nIndia kick started the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk knock of 41 runs from 49 balls, including 5 fours and a six, while chasing a target of 63 runs. The ensuing test series against Zimbabwe was John Wright's first assignment as Indian coach. Dravid, who was instrumental in Wright's appointment as India's first foreign head coach, welcomed him with his maiden double hundred. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second, guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 – highest batting average by an Indian in a series across all formats.\n\nDravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the fifth match of the bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe in the absence of Ganguly who was serving suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39-run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain.\n\nHistory at Eden\nThe Australian team toured India in February 2001 for what was being billed as the Final Frontier for Steve Waugh's all conquering men, who were coming on the back of 15 consecutive Test wins. Dravid failed in the first innings of the First Test but displayed strong resilience in Tendulkar's company in the second innings. Dravid's 196 ball long resistance finally ended when he got out bowled to Warne for 39 runs. Australians extended their winning streak to 16 Tests as they beat India convincingly by 10 wickets inside three days.\n\nThe Australian juggernaut seemed unstoppable as they looked on course towards their 17th consecutive victory in the Second Test at the Eden Gardens, when they bowled India out for meagre 171 in the first innings and enforced a follow-on after securing a massive lead of 274 runs. In the second innings, Laxman, who had scored a fine fifty in the first innings, was promoted to no. 3 position which had been Dravid's usual spot for quite sometime now, while Dravid, who had gotten out bowled to Warne for second time in a row in the first innings for just 25 runs, was relegated to no. 6 position. When Dravid joined Laxman in the middle on the third day of the Test, with scoreboard reading 232/4 and India still needing 42 runs to avoid an innings defeat, another convincing win for Australia looked inevitable. Instead, two of them staged one of the greatest fightbacks in cricketing history.\n\nDravid and Laxman played out the remaining time on the third day and whole of the fourth day, denying Australia any wicket on Day 4. Dravid, angered by the flak that the Indian team had been receiving lately in the media coverage, celebrated his hundred in an uncharacteristic fashion brandishing his bat at the press box. Eventually, Laxman got out on the fifth morning bringing the 376-runs partnership to an end. Dravid soon perished getting run out for 180 while trying to force the pace. Ganguly declared the innings at 657/7, setting Australia a target of 384 runs with 75 overs left in the match. An inspired team India bowled superbly to dismiss Australia for 212 in 68.3 overs. India won the match by 171 runs. This was only the third instance of a team winning a Test after following-on and India became the 2nd team to do so.\n\nDravid scored 81 runs in the first innings of the Third Test and took 4 catches in the match as India defeated Australia at Chennai in a nail biting finish to clinch the series 2–1. Dravid scored 80 in the first of the 5-match ODI series at his home ground as India won the match by 60 runs. He didn't do too well in the remaining 4 ODIs as Australia won the series 3–2. Dravid topped the averages for the 2000/01 Test season with 839 runs from six matches at an average of 104.87.\n\nDravid had a decent outing in Zimbabwe, scoring 137 runs from 134 balls in the First Tour game and aggregating 138 runs at an average of 69.00 from the drawn Test series. In the ensuing triangular ODI series, he aggregated 121 runs from 5 matches at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 101.68, the highlight being an unbeaten 72 off 64 balls, while chasing a target of 235 against Zimbabwe in the 3rd match of the series, guiding India to a 4-wicket win with four balls to spare. He was adjudged man of the match for his match winning knock.\n\nOn the next tour to Sri Lanka, India lost the first three matches of the triangular event. In the absence of suspended Ganguly, Dravid captained the side in the 4th match leading them to their first victory of the series. India won the next two matches to qualify for the Final. Dravid played crucial innings in all the three victories. Eventually, India lost the Final to Sri Lanka. He top scored for India in the series with 259 runs from seven matches at an average of 51.80 and a strike rate of 59.81. Reinstated to his usual no. 3 position in the absence of injured Laxman, Dravid top scored for India in the ensuing 3-Test series as well with 235 runs at an average of 47.00. The highlight for Dravid was 75 runs scored in the tough fourth innings chase of the Second Test – a crucial contribution to India's first Test win in Sri Lanka since 1993 despite the absence of key players like Tendulkar, Laxman, Srinath and Kumble.\n\nDravid had decent success in Standard Bank tri-series on South Africa tour, scoring 214 runs (including 3 fifties) at an average of 53.50 and a strike rate of 71.81. He also kept wickets in the final two ODIs of the series effecting 3 stumpings. The highlight for Dravid in the ensuing Test series came in the second innings of the Second Test. India, having failed to last hundred overs in any of the previous three innings in the series, needed to bat out four sessions in the Second Test to save the match. They started on a poor note losing their first wicket in the first over with no runs on the scoreboard. However, Dravid forged an important partnership of 171 runs with Dasgupta that lasted for 83.2 overs taking India to the brink of safety. Poor weather helped India salvage a draw as only 96.2 overs could be bowled in the innings. Dravid captained the team in the 'unofficial' Third test in the absence of injured Ganguly, which India lost by an innings margin.\n\nBy the end of the South African tour, Dravid had started experiencing problem in his right shoulder. Although he played the ensuing home test series against England, he pulled out of the six-match bilateral ODI series to undergo shoulder rehabilitation program in South Africa. He returned for the Zimbabwe's tour of India but performed below par, scoring a fifty each in the Test series and the bilateral ODI series.\n\n2002–2006: Peak years\nDravid hit the peak form of his career in 2002. Between Season 2002 and Season 2006, Dravid was the second highest scorer overall and top scorer for India across formats, scoring 8,914 runs from 174 matches at an average of 54.02, including 19 hundreds.\n\nDravid had a decent outing in West Indies in 2002. The highlights for him included – hitting a hundred with a swollen jaw and helping India avoid the follow-on in the process at Georgetown in the drawn First Test; contributing with a fifty and four catches to India's victory in the Second Test at Port of Spain – India's first Test victory in West Indies since 1975–76; and another fifty in the drawn Fourth Test with a wicket to boot – that of Ridley Jacobs who was batting on 118. This was Dravid's only wicket in Test cricket. He played as India's designated keeper in the ODI series but didn't contribute much with the bat in the 2–1 series win.\n\nA quartet of hundreds\nIndia's tour of England in 2002 started with a triangular ODI event involving India, England and Sri Lanka. India emerged as the winners of the series beating England in the Final – their first victory after nine consecutive defeats in one-day finals. Dravid played as designated keeper in six out of seven matches effecting nine dismissals (6 catches, 3 stumpings) – most by a keeper in the series. He also did well with the bat aggregating 245 runs at an average of 49.00 including three fifties. His performance against Sri Lanka in fourth ODI (64 runs, 1 catch) earned him a man of the match award.\n\nIndia lost the first of the four match Test series. Having conceded a 260 runs lead in the first innings of the Second Test at Nottingham, Indians were in a spot of bother. However, Dravid led the fightback in the second innings with a hundred as Indians managed to earn a draw.\n\nGanguly won the toss in the Third Test and took a bold decision to bat first on a gloomy overcast morning at Headingley on a pitch known to be traditionally conducive for fast and swing bowling. Having lost an early wicket, Dravid weathered the storm in company of Sanjay Bangar. They played cautiously, taking body blows on a pitch with uneven bounce. Dravid completed his second hundred of the series in the process. As the conditions became more and more conducive for batting, the Indian batsmen piled on England's misery. Indians declared the innings on 628/8 and then bowled England out twice to register their first test victory in England since 1986. Despite being outscored by Tendulkar, Dravid was awarded man of the match for his efforts. Dravid scored a double hundred in the drawn Fourth Test to notch up his second consecutive man of the match award of the series. Christopher Martin-Jenkins noted during the Fourth Test: Dravid aggregated 602 runs in the series from four matches at an average of 100.33, including three hundreds and a fifty and was adjudged joint man of the series along with Michael Vaughan.\n\nIndia jointly shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Dravid contributed to India's successful campaign with 120 runs at an average of 60.00 and five dismissals behind the wicket. Dravid scored a hundred in the First Test of the three match home series against West Indies becoming the first Indian batsman to score hundreds in four consecutive Test innings but had to retire soon after owing to severe cramps. Dravid did well in the subsequent bilateral 7-match ODI series aggregating 300 runs at an average of 75.00 and a strike rate of 89.82 including one hundred and two fifties. He also effected 7 dismissals (6 catches, 1 stumping) in the series. India trailing 1–2, needed 325 runs to win the Fourth ODI and level the series. Dravid scored a hundred leading India to a successful chase. He once again scored a crucial fifty in the Sixth ODI as India once again leveled the series after trailing 2–3. India, however, lost the last match to lose the series 3–4.\n\nDravid top scored for India in the two-match Test series in New Zealand as India slumped to a whitewash. He played as designated keeper in six of the 7-match bilateral ODI series and effected seven dismissals but fared poorly with the bat as India were handed a 2-5 drubbing by the New Zealand.\n\n2003 Cricket World Cup\nDravid arrived in South Africa with the Indian squad to participate in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in the capacity of first-choice keeper-batsman as part of their seven batsmen-four bowlers strategy – an experiment that had brought success to the team in the past year. The idea was that making Dravid keep wickets allowed India to accommodate an extra specialist batsman. The strategy worked out well for India in the World Cup. India recovered from a less than convincing victory against minnows Netherlands and a loss to Australia in the league stage and embarked on a dream run winning eight consecutive matches to qualify for the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1983. India eventually lost the Final to Australia ending as runner-up in the tournament. Dravid contributed to India's campaign with 318 runs at an average of 63.60 and 16 dismissals (15 catches, 1 stumping). Highlights for Dravid in the tournament included a fifty against England, 44 not out against Pakistan in a successful chase and an unbeaten fifty in another successful chase against New Zealand.\n\nDravid topped the international runs chart for 2003/04 cricket season across formats aggregating 1993 runs from 31 matches at an average of 64.29 including three double hundreds. First of those came against New Zealand in the first of the two-test home series at Ahmedabad. Dravid scored 222 runs in the first innings and 73 runs in the second innings receiving a man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid captained Indian Test Team for the first time in the second game of the series at Mohali in the absence of Ganguly. Both the matches ended in a draw. Dravid top scored in the series with 313 runs at an average of 78.25. India next participated in TVS cup alongside New Zealand and Australia. India lost to Australia in the Final. Dravid scored two fifties in the series but the highlight was his fifty against New Zealand in the ninth match that came in just 22 balls – second fastest fifty by an Indian.\n\nAn Eden encore\n\nAfter earning a draw in the first of the four-match Test series in Australia, Indians found themselves reeling at 85/4 in the Second Test at Adelaide after Australia had piled 556 runs in the first innings when Laxman joined Dravid in the middle. They batted for 93.5 overs bringing about their second 300-run partnership adding 303 runs together before Laxman perished for 148 runs. However, Dravid continued to complete his second double hundred of the season. He was the last man out for 233 runs as India conceded a marginal first innings lead of 33 runs to Australia. India bowled Australia out for paltry score of 196 riding on Agarkar's six-wicket haul, and were set a target of 230 runs to win the match. Dravid helped India tread through a tricky chase with an unbeaten fifty as India registered their first test victory in Australia since 1980/81 to go up 1–0 in the series. This was the first time that Australians were 0-1 down in a home series since 1994. Dravid won the man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid registered a score of ninety each in the next two tests as Australia leveled the series 1–1. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 619 runs at an average of 123.80 and was awarded player of the series for his efforts.\n\nDravid did moderately well in the ensuing VB series with three fifties in the league stage, all of which came in winning cause. However, India lost the best-of-three finals to Australia 2–0. Dravid was fined half his match fee for applying cough lozenge on the ball during a match in the series against Zimbabwe – an act that was claimed to be an innocent mistake by coach John Wright.\n\nIndia visited Pakistan in March 2004 to participate in a bilateral Test series for the first time since 1989/90. Prior to the Test series, India participated and won the 5-match ODI series 3–2. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 73.59. Dravid scored 99 runs in the First ODI helping India post an imposing total of 349. He also took the important catch of threatening Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting on 122, as India went on to win the match by five runs. When Indians were trailing in the series 1–2, Dravid helped India level the series with an unbeaten fifty during a successful chase in the Fourth ODI.\n\nCaptaincy\nDravid captained India in the first two tests in the absence of injured Ganguly and led India to their first-ever Test victory in Pakistan. Dravid, standing in only his second test as team's captain, took a bold and controversial decision during First Test at Multan that divided the cricket fraternity. Pakistani cricketers had been on field for 150+ overs as India posted a total in excess of 600 runs in the first innings. Dravid, who wanted to have a crack at the tired Pakistani batsmen in the final hour of second day's play, declared Indian innings with Tendulkar batting at 194, just six runs short of his double century. While some praised the team before personal milestones approach of the Indian captain, most criticized Dravid's timing of declaration as there were no pressing concerns and there was ample time left in the match to try and bowl Pakistan out twice. While Tendulkar was admittedly disappointed, any rumours of rift between him and Dravid were quashed by both the cricketers and the team management, who claimed that the matter had been discussed and sorted amicably behind closed doors. India eventually went on to win the match by innings margin. Pakistan leveled the series beating India in the Second Test. Dravid slammed a double hundred in the Third Test at Rawalpindi – his third double hundred of the season. He scored 270 runs – his career best performance – before getting out to reverse sweep trying to force the pace. India went on to win the match and the series – their first series victory outside India since 1993. Dravid was adjudged man of the match for his effort.\n\nDravid was appointed the captain for the Indian team for 2007 World Cup, where India had an unsuccessful campaign.\n\nDuring India's unsuccessful tour of England in 2011, in which their 4–0 loss cost them the top rank in Test cricket, Dravid made three centuries.\n\n2011 Tour of England\nHaving regained his form on the tour to West Indies, where he scored a match-winning hundred in Sabina park, Jamaica, Dravid then toured England in what was billed as the series which would decide the World No. 1 ranking in tests.\nIn the first test at Lord's, in reply to England's 474, Dravid scored an unbeaten 103, his first hundred at the ground where he debuted in 1996. He received scant support from his teammates as India were bowled out for 286 and lost the test. The 2nd test at Trentbridge, Nottingham again saw Dravid in brilliant form. Sent out to open the batting in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir, he scored his second successive hundred. His 117 though, again came in a losing cause, as a collapse of 6 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings led to a massive defeat by 319 runs. Dravid failed in both innings in the third test at Birmingham, as India lost by an innings and 242 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their history. However, he came back brilliantly in the fourth and final match at The Oval. Again opening the batting in place of Gambhir, he scored an unbeaten 146 out of India's total of 300, carrying his bat through the innings. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as India lost the match, completing a 0–4 whitewash.\nIn all, he scored 461 runs in the four matches at an average of 76.83 with three hundreds. He accounted for over 26% of India's runs in the series and was named India's man of the series by England coach Andy Flower. His performance in the series was met with widespread admiration and was hailed by some as one of his finest ever series\n\nRetirement\nRahul Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 2009, but was selected again for an ODI series in England in 2011, surprising even Dravid himself since, although he had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he had not expected to be recalled. After being selected, he announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the series. He played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 16 September 2011, scoring 69 runs from 79 balls before being bowled by Graeme Swann. His last limited-overs international match was his debut T20I match; he announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.\n\nDravid announced his retirement from Test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, after the 2011–12 tour of Australia, but he said that he would captain the Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.\n\nIn July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.\n\nCoaching\nTowards the end of his playing career, Dravid took on a role as mentor of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, officially taking over in 2014. During this time, he also became involved with the Indian national team, serving as mentor for the team's tour of England in 2014. After leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the 2015 IPL season, he was appointed as the head coach of the India U-19 and India A teams. Dravid achieved immense success as coach, with the U-19s reaching the finals of the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Two years later, the team went on to win the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, beating Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup, the most by any national side. Dravid was credited with bringing up future national team players including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Alongside his coaching roles, Dravid took on several mentor roles, including at the Delhi Daredevils IPL team.\n\nIn July 2019, following his four-year stint as coach of the junior teams, Dravid was appointed Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He was in charge of \"overseeing all cricket related activities at NCA was involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA\". As head of NCA, he was widely praised for developing a steady supply of talent to the senior team and revamping player fitness and rehabilitation regiments.\n\nIn November 2021, he was appointed as head coach of the Indian national cricket team.\n\nCounty stint\n\nDravid had always been keen on further honing his batting skills in testing English conditions by playing in county cricket. He had discussed about the prospects regarding the same with John Wright, the former New Zealand cricketer and incumbent Kent coach, during India's 1998–99 tour of New Zealand. Wright was particularly impressed with Dravid's performance on that tour, especially his twin hundreds at Hamilton. The talks finally materialized and Dravid made his county debut for Kent in April 2000. His co-debutante Ganguly made his county debuted in the same match, albeit for the opposite team.\n\nKent offer had come as a welcome change for Dravid. There was too much negativity surrounding Indian cricket marred by match fixing controversy. Dravid himself had been struggling to score runs in Tests for quite some time now. The county stint gave him a chance to \"get away to a new environment\" and \"relax\". The wide variety of pitches and weather conditions in England and a full season of intense county cricket against professional cricketers gave him a chance to further his cricketing education and learn things about his game.\n\nDravid made the most of this opportunity. In his 2nd game for Kent, Dravid scored a fluid 182 propelling them to an innings and 163 runs victory over the touring Zimbabwe side. Out of 7 first class tour games that Zimbabwe played on that tour, Kent was the only team that managed to beat them. Dravid hit another fifty in a draw against Surrey. The newly appointed vice-captain had to leave the county championship temporarily, missing two championship games and two one day games, to fulfill his national commitment. Indian team, Dravid included, fared poorly in the Asia cup and failed to qualify for the Final. Subsequently, Dravid returned to England to resume his county sojourn with Kent.\n\nIn July 2000, Kent's away match against Hampshire at Portsmouth was billed as a showdown between two great cricketers- Warne and Dravid. Dravid came out on top. On a dustbowl, tailor-made to suit home team spinners, Warne took 4 wickets but could not take the all important wicket of Dravid. Coming in to bat at 15/2, Dravid faced 295 balls scoring 137 runs – his maiden hundred in county championships. Dravid scored 73 not out in the 2nd innings guiding Kent to a six wicket victory as Warne went wicketless.\n\nIn their last county game of the season, Kent needed one bonus point to prevent themselves from being relegated to the Second Division. Dravid made sure they stay put in the First Division by fetching that one bonus point with an inning of 77 runs.\n\nDravid concluded a successful stint with Kent aggregating 1221 runs from 16 first class matches(15 county games and 1 tour game against Zimbabwe) at an average of 55.50 including 2 hundreds and 8 fifties. He shouldered Kent's batting single-handedly as the second best Kent batsman during the same period, Paul Nixon, scored just 567 runs at an average of 33.35 in 17 matches. Dravid contributed to Kent's county campaign not just with the bat but also with his fielding and bowling taking 14 catches and 4 wickets at an average of 32.00.\n\nIndian Premier League and Champions League\n\nRahul Dravid played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2008, 2009 and 2010. Later he played for Rajasthan Royals and led it to finals of Champions League T20 in 2013, and play-offs of Indian Premier League in 2013. Dravid announced retirement from Twenty20 after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 in September–October 2013.\n\nPlaying style\nDravid was known for his technique, and has been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team. In the beginning, he was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However, he later scored consistently in ODIs as well, earning him the ICC Player of the Year award. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements is now used as his nickname. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket, with an average of 52.31; this included five double centuries. In one-dayers, he averaged 39.16, with a strike rate of 71.23. He is one of the few Indians whose Test average is better at away than at home, averaging almost five runs more on foreign pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's Test average in abroad is 55.53, and his Test average at home is 50.76; his ODI average abroad is 37.93 and his ODI average at home is 43.11. Dravid averages 66.34 runs in Indian Test victories. and 50.69 runs in ODIs.\n\nDravid's sole Test wicket was of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test match against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs.\n\nDravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is a world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings played since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively.\n\nHe was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman, Dravid scored 50 runs not out in 22 balls (a strike rate of 227.27) against New Zealand in Hyderabad on 15 November 2003, the second fastest 50 among Indian batsmen. Only Ajit Agarkar's 67 runs off 21 balls is faster than that of Dravid.\n\nIn 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year award by the International Cricket Council (ICC).\n\nAfter reaching 10,000 Test runs milestone, he said, \"It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game.\"\n\nDravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is the fourth highest run scorer in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis.\n\nControversies\n\nBall-tampering incident\nIn January 2004, Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence, although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his match fee.\n\nIndian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that \"It was an innocent mistake\". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was \"just an accident\".\n\nCaptaincy\nRahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests.\n\nOne of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs not out with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. In this test match Sehwag scored triple century first time. He became the first Indian to score triple century in test with a score of 309.\n\nIn March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling it to draw the series 1–1. The defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch, which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings.\n\nAfter India failed to qualify for the final of the DLF Cup, Dravid, the skipper, was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.\n\nHe was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after his then IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh out of the eight teams that participated in the 2008 season.\n\nAchievements and awards\n\nNational honours\n 1998 – Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in cricket\n 2004 – Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian award\n2013 – Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award\n\nOther honours\n 1999 – CEAT International Cricketer of the World Cup\n 2000 – Dravid was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year.\n 2004 – ICC Cricketer of the year – Highest award in the ICC listings\n 2004 – ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year \n2004 – MTV Youth Icon of the Year \n 2006 – Captain of the ICC's Test Team\n 2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Dev Anand\n2012 – Don Bradman Award with Glenn McGrath\n2015 – Wisden India's Highest Impact Test Batsman\n2018 – ICC Hall of Fame\n\nPersonal life\n\nFamily\nOn 4 May 2003 he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. Vijeta Pendharkar is also from Deshastha Brahmin community as Dravid. They have two children: Samit, born in 2005, and Anvay, born in 2009. Dravid is fluent in Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and English.\n\nCommercial endorsements\nRahul Dravid has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Reebok (1996 – present), Pepsi (1997 present), Kissan (Unknown), Castrol (2001 – present), Hutch\n(2003), Karnataka Tourism (2004), Max Life (2005 – present), Bank of Baroda (2005 – present), Citizen (2006 – present), Skyline Construction (2006 – present), Sansui (2007), Gillette (2007 – present), Samsung (2002 – 2004), World Trade Center Noida (2013– present),\nCRED (2021-present).\n\nSocial commitments\n Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)\n UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign\n\nBiographies\n\nBooks\nTwo biographies have been written on Rahul Dravid and his career:\n Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004\n The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005\n A collection of articles, testimonials and interviews related to Dravid was released by ESPNcricinfo following his retirement. The book was titled Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel.\n\nSee also\n Sachin Tendulkar\n Sourav Ganguly\n VVS Laxman\n Virendra Sehwag\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n \n \n\nIndian cricketers\nIndia Test cricketers\nIndia One Day International cricketers\nIndia Twenty20 International cricketers\nIndia Test cricket captains\nWisden Cricketers of the Year\nKarnataka cricketers\nSouth Zone cricketers\nKent cricketers\nScotland cricketers\nACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers\nICC World XI One Day International cricketers\nWorld XI Test cricketers\nRoyal Challengers Bangalore cricketers\nCanterbury cricketers\nMarylebone Cricket Club cricketers\nRajasthan Royals cricketers\nIndia Blue cricketers\nCricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup\nCricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup\nCricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup\nRecipients of the Padma Shri in sports\n1973 births\nLiving people\nCricketers from Indore\nCricketers from Bangalore\nRecipients of the Arjuna Award\nInternational Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year\nMarathi people\nIndian cricket coaches\nRecipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports\nIndian cricket commentators\nWicket-keepers"
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[
"Rahul Dravid",
"Golden years",
"At what age did Rahul begin playing cricket?",
"I don't know.",
"How many games did Dravid help lead his team to victory?",
"I don't know.",
"Was Dravid considered a great player by his teammates?",
"Dravid had played 8 Tests since his last hundred against New Zealand at Mohali scoring just 350 runs at a paltry average of 23.33"
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| C_ae935d6d2cbd4989b9af39d2c8b4f36c_1 | What position did Dravid play as in his team? | 4 | What position did Rahul Dravid play as in his team? | Rahul Dravid | As the new international season commenced, the first and foremost challenge for the newly appointed captain and vice-captain, Ganguly and Dravid, was to pull the team out of the shadows of the match fixing scandal. Indian team played 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy with vigour and showed a lot of character beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid played his part scoring 157 runs in 4 matches at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid played the first two matches of 2000-01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy and scored 85 runs in the 2nd match against Zimbabwe opening the innings before getting injured while fielding at slips forcing him to miss the rest of the tournament. India started off the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk inning of 49 ball 41 runs, including 5 fours and a six, chasing a target of 63 runs. However, Dravid's poor patch truly ended in the next Test series against Zimbabwe, which was also the first series for John Wright as the new Indian coach. Wright was instrumental in Dravid's association with Kent earlier this year. Dravid returned the favour by recommending his name to the BCCI for the post of national team coach. By now, Dravid had played 8 Tests since his last hundred against New Zealand at Mohali scoring just 350 runs at a paltry average of 23.33 without a single fifty plus inning. The Indian vice-captain ended the run drought and welcomed the new Indian coach with a double hundred - Dravid's first. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second inning guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 - highest batting average by an Indian in a Test series. Dravid scored just a solitary fifty in the second of the five match bilateral ODI series between India and Zimbabwe. However, the series proved to be a milestone in Dravid's career. Dravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the 5th match of the series as the regular captain Ganguly had to sit out due to one match suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39 run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the under-19 team finished runners up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Known for his sound batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall.
Born in a Marathi family and raised in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.
As of December 2016, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. In 2004, after completing his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played. He has faced 31258 balls, which is the highest number of balls faced by any player in test cricket. He has also spent 44152 minutes at the crease, which is the highest time spent on crease by any player in test cricket. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are currently the highest scoring partnership in Test cricket history having scored 6920 runs combined when batting together for India.
In August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.
Rahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively.
In 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. Indian badminton player Prannoy Kumar, Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and young Golfer S. Chikkarangappa was part of the initial group of athletes to be mentored by Rahul Dravid. In July 2018, Dravid became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.
Early life
Dravid was born in a Marathi-Speaking Brahmin family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His family later moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, where he was raised. His mother tongue is Marathi. Dravid's father Sharad Dravid worked for a company that makes jams and preserves, giving rise to the later nickname Jammy. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore. Dravid has a younger brother named Vijay. He did his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore. He was selected to India's national cricket team while working towards an MBA at St Joseph's College of Business Administration. He is fluent in several languages: Marathi, Kannada, English and Hindi.
Formative years and domestic career
Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented Karnataka at the under-15, the under-17 and the under-19 levels. Former cricketer Keki Tarapore first noticed Dravid's talent while coaching at a summer camp in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dravid scored a century for his school team. He also played as wicket-keeper.
Dravid made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991, while still attending college. Playing alongside future India teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath against Maharashtra in Pune, he scored 82 runs in the match, which ended in a draw. He followed it up with a century against Bengal and three successive centuries after. However, Dravid's first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries and finished up with 380 runs at an average of 63.30, getting selected for the South Zone cricket team in the Duleep Trophy. Dravid's caught the national team selectors' eye with his good performances for India A in the home series against England A in 1994–95.
International career
Debut
Dravid, who had been knocking at the doors of Indian national cricket team for quite a while with his consistent performance in domestic cricket, received his first national call in October 1994, for the last two matches of the Wills World Series. However, he could not break into the playing eleven. He went back to the domestic circuit and kept knocking harder. So much so, that when the selectors announced the Indian team for the 1996 World Cup sans Dravid, an Indian daily newspaper carried a headline – "Rahul Dravid gets a raw deal". Dravid eventually made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the Singer Cup held in Singapore immediately after the 1996 World Cup, replacing Vinod Kambli. He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat, scoring just three runs before being dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan, but took two catches in the match. He followed it up with another failure in the next game scoring just four runs before getting run out against Pakistan.
In contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian squad touring England on the backdrop of a consistent performance in domestic cricket for five years. Fine performances in the tour games including fifties against Gloucestershire and Leicestershire failed to earn him a place in the team for the First Test. He finally made his Test debut at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series at the expense of injured senior batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar, who was suffering from an ankle injury, was to undergo a fitness test on the morning of the Second Test. Dravid had already been informed that he would play if Manjrekar fails the test. As Manjrekar failed the fitness test, ten minutes before the toss, Sandeep Patil, the then Indian coach, went up to Dravid to inform him that he was indeed going to make his debut that day. Patil recalled years later:
Coming in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships, first with another debutante Sourav Ganguly and then with Indian lower order, securing a vital first innings lead for his team. Dravid scored 95 runs before getting out to the bowling of Chris Lewis. He was just five runs short of a landmark debut hundred when he nicked a Lewis delivery to the keeper and walked even before umpire's decision. He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismiss Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Srinath. In the next tour game against British Universities, Dravid scored a hundred. He scored another fifty in the first innings of the Third Test. Dravid concluded a successful debut series with an impressive average of 62.33 from two Test matches.
1996–98: A tale of two formats
Dravid's early years in international cricket mirrored his international debut. He had contrasting fortunes in the long and the shorter format of the game. While he straightaway made a name for himself in Test cricket, he had to struggle quite a bit to make a mark in ODIs.
After a successful Test debut in England, Dravid played in the one-off Test against Australia in Delhi – his first Test in India. Batting at no. 6, he scored 40 runs in the first innings. Dravid batted at no. 3 position for the first time in the First Test of the three-match home series against South Africa in Ahmedabad in November 1996. He didn't do too well in the series scoring just 175 runs at a modest average of 29.16.
Two weeks later, India toured South Africa for a three–match Test series. Chasing a target of 395 runs in the First Test, Indian team bundled out meekly for 66 runs on the Durban pitch that provided excessive bounce and seam movement. Dravid, batting at no. 6, was the only Indian batsman who reached double figures in the innings scoring 27 not out. He was promoted to the no. 3 slot again in the second innings of the Second Test, a move that paid rich dividends in the ensuing Test. He almost won the Third Test for India with his maiden test hundred in the first innings scoring 148 runs and another 81 runs in the second innings at Wanderers before the thunderstorms, dim light and Cullinan's hundred saved the day for South Africa enabling them to draw the match. Dravid's performance in this Test earned him his first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. He top scored for India in the series with 277 runs at an average of 55.40.
Dravid continued in the same vein in the West Indies where he once again top scored for India in the five–match Test series aggregating 360 runs at an average of 72.00 including four fifties. 92 runs scored in the first innings of the fifth match in Georgetown earned him a joint Man of the Match award along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With this series, Dravid concluded a successful 1996/97 Test season, topping the international runs chart with 852 runs from 12 matches at an average of 50.11 with six fifties and one hundred.
Dravid continued his good run scoring seven fifties in the next eight Tests that included fifties in six consecutive innings (three each against Sri Lanka and Australia), becoming only the second Indian to do so after Gundappa Vishwanath. By the end of 1997/98 Test season, he had scored 15 fifties in 22 Tests which included four scores of nineties but just a solitary hundred.
The century drought came to an end in the 1998/99 Test season when he further raised the bar of his performance scoring 752 runs in seven Tests at an average of 62.66 that included four hundreds and one fifty and in the process topping the runs chart for India for the season. The first of those four hundreds came on the Zimbabwe tour. Dravid top scored in both the innings against Zimbabwe scoring 118 and 44 runs respectively however, India lost the one-off Test.
The Zimbabwe tour was followed by a tour to New Zealand. First Test having been abandoned without a ball being bowled, the series started for Dravid with the first duck of his Test career in the first innings of the Second Test and ended with hundreds in both the innings of the Third Test in Hamilton. He scored 190 and 103 not out in the first and the second innings respectively, becoming only the third Indian batsman, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to score a century in both innings of a Test match. Dravid topped the runs table for the series with 321 runs from two matches at an average of 107.00 but could not prevent India from losing the series 0–1.
Later that month, India played a two Test home series against Pakistan. Dravid didn't contribute much with the bat. India lost the First Test but won the Second Test in Delhi riding on Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul. Dravid played his part in the 10-wicket haul by taking a catch to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed who was Kumble's eighth victim of the innings. The Indo-Pak Test series was followed by the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship. Dravid couldn't do much with the bat as India went on to lose the riot-affected First Test of the championship against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. India went to Sri Lanka to play the Second Test of the championship. Dravid scored his fourth hundred of the season at Colombo in the first innings of the match. He also effected a brilliant run out of Russel Arnold during Sri Lankan innings fielding at short leg. On the fourth morning, Dravid got injured while fielding at the same position when the ball from Jayawardene's pull shot hit his face through the helmet grill. He didn't come out to bat in the second innings due to the injury. The match ended in a draw as India failed to qualify for the Finals of the championship.
In a stark contrast to his Test career, Dravid had to struggle a lot to make a mark in the ODIs. Between his ODI debut in April 1996 and the end of 1998 calendar year, Dravid regularly found himself in and out of the ODI team.
Dravid tasted first success of his ODI career in the 1996 'Friendship' Cup against Pakistan in the tough conditions of Toronto. He emerged as the highest scorer of the series with 220 runs in five matches at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of 68.53. He won his first ODI Man of the Match award for the 46 runs scored in the low scoring third game of the series. He top scored for India in the Standard Bank International One-Day Series 1996/97 in South Africa with 280 runs from eight games at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 60.73, the highlight being a Man of the Match award-winning performance (84 runs, one catch) in the Final of the series that came in a losing cause. He was the second highest run scorer for India in the four-match bilateral ODI series in the West Indies in 1996/97 with 121 runs at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 57.61. Dravid's maiden ODI hundred came in a losing cause in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup against Pakistan in Chennai. Dravid top scored for India in the quadrangular event with 189 runs from three games at an average of 94.50 and a strike rate of 75.60 however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the series.
However, Dravid's achievements in the ODIs were dwarfed by his failures in the shorter format of the game. 14 runs from two games in the 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup; 20 runs from two innings in the Singer World Series; 65 runs from four innings in the 1997 'Friendship' Cup; 88 runs from four games in the 1998 Coca-Cola Triangular Series including a 22-ball five runs and a 21-ball one run innings, both coming against Bangladesh; 32 runs from four games in the 1998 'Friendship' Cup; a slew of such poor performances often forced him to the sidelines of the India ODI squad. By the end of 1998, Dravid had scored 1709 runs in 65 ODIs at a humble average of 31.64 with a poor strike rate of 63.48.
By now, Dravid had been branded as a Test specialist. While he continued to score heavily in Test cricket, his poor strike rate in ODIs came under scanner. He drew criticism for not being able to adjust his style of play to the needs of ODI cricket, his lack of attacking capability and play big strokes. However, Dravid worked hard and re-tooled his game by increasing his range of strokes and adapting his batting style to suit the requirements of ODI cricket. He learned to pace his innings cleverly without going for the slogs.
Dravid's ODI renaissance began during the 1998/99 New Zealand tour. He scored a run-a-ball hundred in the first match of the bilateral ODI series that earned him his third Man of the Match award in ODIs. The hundred came in a losing cause. However, his effort of 51 runs from 71 balls in the Fourth ODI came in India's victory and earned him his second Man of the Match award of the series. He ended as the top scorer of the series with 309 runs from five games at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 84.65. Dravid scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in 1998/99 Pepsi Cup at Nagpur adding a record 236 runs for the 2nd wicket with Ganguly, who also scored a hundred in the match. Uncharacteristically, Dravid was the faster of the two scoring 116 of 118 deliveries. In the next match against Pakistan, he bowled four overs and took the wicket of Saeed Anwar, out caught behind by wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. This was his first wicket in international cricket.
Dravid warmed up for his debut World Cup with two fifties in the 1998–99 Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah, one each against England and Pakistan. Standing-in as the substitute wicket-keeper in the third match of the series for Nayan Mongia, who got injured during keeping, Dravid effected two dismissals. He first stumped Graeme Hick off Sunil Joshi's bowling, who became Dravid's first victim as a wicket-keeper, and then caught Neil Fairbrother off Ajay Jadeja's bowling. He top scored for India in the tournament, though his last ODI innings before the World Cup was a golden duck against Pakistan, in the Final of the series.
Debut World Cup success
Dravid announced his form in England hitting consecutive fifties against Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the warm-up games.
He made his World Cup debut against South Africa at Hove striking a half century, but scored just 13 in the next game against Zimbabwe. India lost both the games. Having lost the first two games, India needed to win the remaining three games of the first round to have any chance of advancing into the Super Six stage. Dravid put up a partnership of 237 runs with Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol – a World Cup record – and in the process hit his maiden World Cup hundred, helping India to a 94-run victory. India's designated keeper Mongia left the field at the end of 9th over during Kenyan innings, forcing Dravid to keep the wickets for the rest of the innings. In the absence of injured Nayan Mongia, Dravid played his first ODI as a designated keeper against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Dravid once again staged a record breaking partnership worth 318 runs – the first ever three hundred run partnership in ODI history – but this time with Sourav Ganguly, guiding India to a 157-run win. Dravid scored 145 runs from 129 balls with 17 fours and a six, becoming the second batsman in World Cup history to hit back-to-back hundreds. Dravid struck a fine fifty in the last group match as India defeated England to advance into the Super Six stage. Dravid scored 2, 61 & 29 in the three Super Six matches against Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand respectively. India failed to qualify for the semi-finals having lost to Australia and New Zealand but achieved a consolation victory against Pakistan in a tense game, what with the military conflict going on between the two countries in Kashmir at the same time. Dravid emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 461 runs from 8 games at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate of 85.52.
Dravid's post-World Cup campaign started on a poor note with just 40 runs coming in 4 games of Aiwa Cup in August 1999. He soon came into his own, top-scoring for India in two consecutive limited-overs series – the Singapore Challenge, the highlight being a hundred in the Final coming in a lost cause, and the DMC Cup, the highlight being a match winning effort (77 runs, 4 catches) in the series decider for which he received man-of-the-match award. Dravid topped the international runs chart for 1999 cricket season across all formats scoring 782 runs from 19 matches. By now, Dravid had started to keep wickets on an infrequent basis with India fielding him as designated wicket-keeper in five out of 10 ODIs played in the three events.
Dravid kick-started his post World Cup Test season with a decent outing against New Zealand in the 3-match home series. His best effort of the series came in the second innings of the First test at Mohali scoring 144, helping India salvage a draw after being bowled out for 83 runs in the First innings. This was Dravid's sixth test hundred but his first test hundred on Indian soil. Dravid did well in the 3–2 series win against New Zealand in the bilateral ODI series, scoring 240 runs in 5 games at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 83.62, ending as the second highest scorer in the series. His career best effort in ODIs came in this series in the second game at Hyderabad where he scored run-a-ball 153 runs which included 15 fours and two sixes. He featured in a 331-run partnership with Tendulkar, which was the highest partnership in ODI cricket history, a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken in 2015. In 1999, Dravid scored 1761 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 46.34 and a strike rate of 75.16 including 6 hundreds and 8 fifties and featured in two 300+ partnerships.
India toured Australia in December 1999 for a 3-match test series and a triangular ODI tournament. Although Dravid scored a hundred against Tasmania in the practice match, he failed miserably with the bat in the Test series as India slumped to a 0–3 whitewash. He did reasonably well in the 1999–2000 Carlton & United Series scoring 3 fifties in the triangular event however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the tournament.
Dravid's poor form in Tests continued as India suffered a 0–2 whitewash against South Africa in a home series. He had moderate success in the bilateral ODI series against South Africa. He contributed to India's 3–2 series win with 208 runs at an average of 41.60 which included 2 fifties and three wickets at an average of 22.66 topping the bowling average chart for the series. His career best bowling figure of 2/43 from nine overs in the First ODI at Kochi, was also the best bowling figure by any bowler in that particular match.
Rise through the ranks
In February 2000, Tendulkar's resignation from captaincy led to the promotion of Ganguly, the vice-captain then, as the new captain of the Indian team. In May 2000, while Dravid was busy playing county cricket in England, he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team announced for the Asia cup.
India did well in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. Indian team, coming out of the shadows of the infamous match fixing scandal, showed a lot of character under the new leadership of Ganguly and Dravid, beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid scored 157 runs in 4 matches of the tournament, at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid scored 85 runs in a match against Zimbabwe in the 2000–01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy while opening the innings but was forced to miss the rest of the tournament because of an injury.
India kick started the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk knock of 41 runs from 49 balls, including 5 fours and a six, while chasing a target of 63 runs. The ensuing test series against Zimbabwe was John Wright's first assignment as Indian coach. Dravid, who was instrumental in Wright's appointment as India's first foreign head coach, welcomed him with his maiden double hundred. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second, guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 – highest batting average by an Indian in a series across all formats.
Dravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the fifth match of the bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe in the absence of Ganguly who was serving suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39-run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain.
History at Eden
The Australian team toured India in February 2001 for what was being billed as the Final Frontier for Steve Waugh's all conquering men, who were coming on the back of 15 consecutive Test wins. Dravid failed in the first innings of the First Test but displayed strong resilience in Tendulkar's company in the second innings. Dravid's 196 ball long resistance finally ended when he got out bowled to Warne for 39 runs. Australians extended their winning streak to 16 Tests as they beat India convincingly by 10 wickets inside three days.
The Australian juggernaut seemed unstoppable as they looked on course towards their 17th consecutive victory in the Second Test at the Eden Gardens, when they bowled India out for meagre 171 in the first innings and enforced a follow-on after securing a massive lead of 274 runs. In the second innings, Laxman, who had scored a fine fifty in the first innings, was promoted to no. 3 position which had been Dravid's usual spot for quite sometime now, while Dravid, who had gotten out bowled to Warne for second time in a row in the first innings for just 25 runs, was relegated to no. 6 position. When Dravid joined Laxman in the middle on the third day of the Test, with scoreboard reading 232/4 and India still needing 42 runs to avoid an innings defeat, another convincing win for Australia looked inevitable. Instead, two of them staged one of the greatest fightbacks in cricketing history.
Dravid and Laxman played out the remaining time on the third day and whole of the fourth day, denying Australia any wicket on Day 4. Dravid, angered by the flak that the Indian team had been receiving lately in the media coverage, celebrated his hundred in an uncharacteristic fashion brandishing his bat at the press box. Eventually, Laxman got out on the fifth morning bringing the 376-runs partnership to an end. Dravid soon perished getting run out for 180 while trying to force the pace. Ganguly declared the innings at 657/7, setting Australia a target of 384 runs with 75 overs left in the match. An inspired team India bowled superbly to dismiss Australia for 212 in 68.3 overs. India won the match by 171 runs. This was only the third instance of a team winning a Test after following-on and India became the 2nd team to do so.
Dravid scored 81 runs in the first innings of the Third Test and took 4 catches in the match as India defeated Australia at Chennai in a nail biting finish to clinch the series 2–1. Dravid scored 80 in the first of the 5-match ODI series at his home ground as India won the match by 60 runs. He didn't do too well in the remaining 4 ODIs as Australia won the series 3–2. Dravid topped the averages for the 2000/01 Test season with 839 runs from six matches at an average of 104.87.
Dravid had a decent outing in Zimbabwe, scoring 137 runs from 134 balls in the First Tour game and aggregating 138 runs at an average of 69.00 from the drawn Test series. In the ensuing triangular ODI series, he aggregated 121 runs from 5 matches at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 101.68, the highlight being an unbeaten 72 off 64 balls, while chasing a target of 235 against Zimbabwe in the 3rd match of the series, guiding India to a 4-wicket win with four balls to spare. He was adjudged man of the match for his match winning knock.
On the next tour to Sri Lanka, India lost the first three matches of the triangular event. In the absence of suspended Ganguly, Dravid captained the side in the 4th match leading them to their first victory of the series. India won the next two matches to qualify for the Final. Dravid played crucial innings in all the three victories. Eventually, India lost the Final to Sri Lanka. He top scored for India in the series with 259 runs from seven matches at an average of 51.80 and a strike rate of 59.81. Reinstated to his usual no. 3 position in the absence of injured Laxman, Dravid top scored for India in the ensuing 3-Test series as well with 235 runs at an average of 47.00. The highlight for Dravid was 75 runs scored in the tough fourth innings chase of the Second Test – a crucial contribution to India's first Test win in Sri Lanka since 1993 despite the absence of key players like Tendulkar, Laxman, Srinath and Kumble.
Dravid had decent success in Standard Bank tri-series on South Africa tour, scoring 214 runs (including 3 fifties) at an average of 53.50 and a strike rate of 71.81. He also kept wickets in the final two ODIs of the series effecting 3 stumpings. The highlight for Dravid in the ensuing Test series came in the second innings of the Second Test. India, having failed to last hundred overs in any of the previous three innings in the series, needed to bat out four sessions in the Second Test to save the match. They started on a poor note losing their first wicket in the first over with no runs on the scoreboard. However, Dravid forged an important partnership of 171 runs with Dasgupta that lasted for 83.2 overs taking India to the brink of safety. Poor weather helped India salvage a draw as only 96.2 overs could be bowled in the innings. Dravid captained the team in the 'unofficial' Third test in the absence of injured Ganguly, which India lost by an innings margin.
By the end of the South African tour, Dravid had started experiencing problem in his right shoulder. Although he played the ensuing home test series against England, he pulled out of the six-match bilateral ODI series to undergo shoulder rehabilitation program in South Africa. He returned for the Zimbabwe's tour of India but performed below par, scoring a fifty each in the Test series and the bilateral ODI series.
2002–2006: Peak years
Dravid hit the peak form of his career in 2002. Between Season 2002 and Season 2006, Dravid was the second highest scorer overall and top scorer for India across formats, scoring 8,914 runs from 174 matches at an average of 54.02, including 19 hundreds.
Dravid had a decent outing in West Indies in 2002. The highlights for him included – hitting a hundred with a swollen jaw and helping India avoid the follow-on in the process at Georgetown in the drawn First Test; contributing with a fifty and four catches to India's victory in the Second Test at Port of Spain – India's first Test victory in West Indies since 1975–76; and another fifty in the drawn Fourth Test with a wicket to boot – that of Ridley Jacobs who was batting on 118. This was Dravid's only wicket in Test cricket. He played as India's designated keeper in the ODI series but didn't contribute much with the bat in the 2–1 series win.
A quartet of hundreds
India's tour of England in 2002 started with a triangular ODI event involving India, England and Sri Lanka. India emerged as the winners of the series beating England in the Final – their first victory after nine consecutive defeats in one-day finals. Dravid played as designated keeper in six out of seven matches effecting nine dismissals (6 catches, 3 stumpings) – most by a keeper in the series. He also did well with the bat aggregating 245 runs at an average of 49.00 including three fifties. His performance against Sri Lanka in fourth ODI (64 runs, 1 catch) earned him a man of the match award.
India lost the first of the four match Test series. Having conceded a 260 runs lead in the first innings of the Second Test at Nottingham, Indians were in a spot of bother. However, Dravid led the fightback in the second innings with a hundred as Indians managed to earn a draw.
Ganguly won the toss in the Third Test and took a bold decision to bat first on a gloomy overcast morning at Headingley on a pitch known to be traditionally conducive for fast and swing bowling. Having lost an early wicket, Dravid weathered the storm in company of Sanjay Bangar. They played cautiously, taking body blows on a pitch with uneven bounce. Dravid completed his second hundred of the series in the process. As the conditions became more and more conducive for batting, the Indian batsmen piled on England's misery. Indians declared the innings on 628/8 and then bowled England out twice to register their first test victory in England since 1986. Despite being outscored by Tendulkar, Dravid was awarded man of the match for his efforts. Dravid scored a double hundred in the drawn Fourth Test to notch up his second consecutive man of the match award of the series. Christopher Martin-Jenkins noted during the Fourth Test: Dravid aggregated 602 runs in the series from four matches at an average of 100.33, including three hundreds and a fifty and was adjudged joint man of the series along with Michael Vaughan.
India jointly shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Dravid contributed to India's successful campaign with 120 runs at an average of 60.00 and five dismissals behind the wicket. Dravid scored a hundred in the First Test of the three match home series against West Indies becoming the first Indian batsman to score hundreds in four consecutive Test innings but had to retire soon after owing to severe cramps. Dravid did well in the subsequent bilateral 7-match ODI series aggregating 300 runs at an average of 75.00 and a strike rate of 89.82 including one hundred and two fifties. He also effected 7 dismissals (6 catches, 1 stumping) in the series. India trailing 1–2, needed 325 runs to win the Fourth ODI and level the series. Dravid scored a hundred leading India to a successful chase. He once again scored a crucial fifty in the Sixth ODI as India once again leveled the series after trailing 2–3. India, however, lost the last match to lose the series 3–4.
Dravid top scored for India in the two-match Test series in New Zealand as India slumped to a whitewash. He played as designated keeper in six of the 7-match bilateral ODI series and effected seven dismissals but fared poorly with the bat as India were handed a 2-5 drubbing by the New Zealand.
2003 Cricket World Cup
Dravid arrived in South Africa with the Indian squad to participate in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in the capacity of first-choice keeper-batsman as part of their seven batsmen-four bowlers strategy – an experiment that had brought success to the team in the past year. The idea was that making Dravid keep wickets allowed India to accommodate an extra specialist batsman. The strategy worked out well for India in the World Cup. India recovered from a less than convincing victory against minnows Netherlands and a loss to Australia in the league stage and embarked on a dream run winning eight consecutive matches to qualify for the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1983. India eventually lost the Final to Australia ending as runner-up in the tournament. Dravid contributed to India's campaign with 318 runs at an average of 63.60 and 16 dismissals (15 catches, 1 stumping). Highlights for Dravid in the tournament included a fifty against England, 44 not out against Pakistan in a successful chase and an unbeaten fifty in another successful chase against New Zealand.
Dravid topped the international runs chart for 2003/04 cricket season across formats aggregating 1993 runs from 31 matches at an average of 64.29 including three double hundreds. First of those came against New Zealand in the first of the two-test home series at Ahmedabad. Dravid scored 222 runs in the first innings and 73 runs in the second innings receiving a man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid captained Indian Test Team for the first time in the second game of the series at Mohali in the absence of Ganguly. Both the matches ended in a draw. Dravid top scored in the series with 313 runs at an average of 78.25. India next participated in TVS cup alongside New Zealand and Australia. India lost to Australia in the Final. Dravid scored two fifties in the series but the highlight was his fifty against New Zealand in the ninth match that came in just 22 balls – second fastest fifty by an Indian.
An Eden encore
After earning a draw in the first of the four-match Test series in Australia, Indians found themselves reeling at 85/4 in the Second Test at Adelaide after Australia had piled 556 runs in the first innings when Laxman joined Dravid in the middle. They batted for 93.5 overs bringing about their second 300-run partnership adding 303 runs together before Laxman perished for 148 runs. However, Dravid continued to complete his second double hundred of the season. He was the last man out for 233 runs as India conceded a marginal first innings lead of 33 runs to Australia. India bowled Australia out for paltry score of 196 riding on Agarkar's six-wicket haul, and were set a target of 230 runs to win the match. Dravid helped India tread through a tricky chase with an unbeaten fifty as India registered their first test victory in Australia since 1980/81 to go up 1–0 in the series. This was the first time that Australians were 0-1 down in a home series since 1994. Dravid won the man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid registered a score of ninety each in the next two tests as Australia leveled the series 1–1. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 619 runs at an average of 123.80 and was awarded player of the series for his efforts.
Dravid did moderately well in the ensuing VB series with three fifties in the league stage, all of which came in winning cause. However, India lost the best-of-three finals to Australia 2–0. Dravid was fined half his match fee for applying cough lozenge on the ball during a match in the series against Zimbabwe – an act that was claimed to be an innocent mistake by coach John Wright.
India visited Pakistan in March 2004 to participate in a bilateral Test series for the first time since 1989/90. Prior to the Test series, India participated and won the 5-match ODI series 3–2. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 73.59. Dravid scored 99 runs in the First ODI helping India post an imposing total of 349. He also took the important catch of threatening Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting on 122, as India went on to win the match by five runs. When Indians were trailing in the series 1–2, Dravid helped India level the series with an unbeaten fifty during a successful chase in the Fourth ODI.
Captaincy
Dravid captained India in the first two tests in the absence of injured Ganguly and led India to their first-ever Test victory in Pakistan. Dravid, standing in only his second test as team's captain, took a bold and controversial decision during First Test at Multan that divided the cricket fraternity. Pakistani cricketers had been on field for 150+ overs as India posted a total in excess of 600 runs in the first innings. Dravid, who wanted to have a crack at the tired Pakistani batsmen in the final hour of second day's play, declared Indian innings with Tendulkar batting at 194, just six runs short of his double century. While some praised the team before personal milestones approach of the Indian captain, most criticized Dravid's timing of declaration as there were no pressing concerns and there was ample time left in the match to try and bowl Pakistan out twice. While Tendulkar was admittedly disappointed, any rumours of rift between him and Dravid were quashed by both the cricketers and the team management, who claimed that the matter had been discussed and sorted amicably behind closed doors. India eventually went on to win the match by innings margin. Pakistan leveled the series beating India in the Second Test. Dravid slammed a double hundred in the Third Test at Rawalpindi – his third double hundred of the season. He scored 270 runs – his career best performance – before getting out to reverse sweep trying to force the pace. India went on to win the match and the series – their first series victory outside India since 1993. Dravid was adjudged man of the match for his effort.
Dravid was appointed the captain for the Indian team for 2007 World Cup, where India had an unsuccessful campaign.
During India's unsuccessful tour of England in 2011, in which their 4–0 loss cost them the top rank in Test cricket, Dravid made three centuries.
2011 Tour of England
Having regained his form on the tour to West Indies, where he scored a match-winning hundred in Sabina park, Jamaica, Dravid then toured England in what was billed as the series which would decide the World No. 1 ranking in tests.
In the first test at Lord's, in reply to England's 474, Dravid scored an unbeaten 103, his first hundred at the ground where he debuted in 1996. He received scant support from his teammates as India were bowled out for 286 and lost the test. The 2nd test at Trentbridge, Nottingham again saw Dravid in brilliant form. Sent out to open the batting in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir, he scored his second successive hundred. His 117 though, again came in a losing cause, as a collapse of 6 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings led to a massive defeat by 319 runs. Dravid failed in both innings in the third test at Birmingham, as India lost by an innings and 242 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their history. However, he came back brilliantly in the fourth and final match at The Oval. Again opening the batting in place of Gambhir, he scored an unbeaten 146 out of India's total of 300, carrying his bat through the innings. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as India lost the match, completing a 0–4 whitewash.
In all, he scored 461 runs in the four matches at an average of 76.83 with three hundreds. He accounted for over 26% of India's runs in the series and was named India's man of the series by England coach Andy Flower. His performance in the series was met with widespread admiration and was hailed by some as one of his finest ever series
Retirement
Rahul Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 2009, but was selected again for an ODI series in England in 2011, surprising even Dravid himself since, although he had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he had not expected to be recalled. After being selected, he announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the series. He played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 16 September 2011, scoring 69 runs from 79 balls before being bowled by Graeme Swann. His last limited-overs international match was his debut T20I match; he announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.
Dravid announced his retirement from Test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, after the 2011–12 tour of Australia, but he said that he would captain the Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.
In July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.
Coaching
Towards the end of his playing career, Dravid took on a role as mentor of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, officially taking over in 2014. During this time, he also became involved with the Indian national team, serving as mentor for the team's tour of England in 2014. After leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the 2015 IPL season, he was appointed as the head coach of the India U-19 and India A teams. Dravid achieved immense success as coach, with the U-19s reaching the finals of the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Two years later, the team went on to win the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, beating Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup, the most by any national side. Dravid was credited with bringing up future national team players including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Alongside his coaching roles, Dravid took on several mentor roles, including at the Delhi Daredevils IPL team.
In July 2019, following his four-year stint as coach of the junior teams, Dravid was appointed Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He was in charge of "overseeing all cricket related activities at NCA was involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA". As head of NCA, he was widely praised for developing a steady supply of talent to the senior team and revamping player fitness and rehabilitation regiments.
In November 2021, he was appointed as head coach of the Indian national cricket team.
County stint
Dravid had always been keen on further honing his batting skills in testing English conditions by playing in county cricket. He had discussed about the prospects regarding the same with John Wright, the former New Zealand cricketer and incumbent Kent coach, during India's 1998–99 tour of New Zealand. Wright was particularly impressed with Dravid's performance on that tour, especially his twin hundreds at Hamilton. The talks finally materialized and Dravid made his county debut for Kent in April 2000. His co-debutante Ganguly made his county debuted in the same match, albeit for the opposite team.
Kent offer had come as a welcome change for Dravid. There was too much negativity surrounding Indian cricket marred by match fixing controversy. Dravid himself had been struggling to score runs in Tests for quite some time now. The county stint gave him a chance to "get away to a new environment" and "relax". The wide variety of pitches and weather conditions in England and a full season of intense county cricket against professional cricketers gave him a chance to further his cricketing education and learn things about his game.
Dravid made the most of this opportunity. In his 2nd game for Kent, Dravid scored a fluid 182 propelling them to an innings and 163 runs victory over the touring Zimbabwe side. Out of 7 first class tour games that Zimbabwe played on that tour, Kent was the only team that managed to beat them. Dravid hit another fifty in a draw against Surrey. The newly appointed vice-captain had to leave the county championship temporarily, missing two championship games and two one day games, to fulfill his national commitment. Indian team, Dravid included, fared poorly in the Asia cup and failed to qualify for the Final. Subsequently, Dravid returned to England to resume his county sojourn with Kent.
In July 2000, Kent's away match against Hampshire at Portsmouth was billed as a showdown between two great cricketers- Warne and Dravid. Dravid came out on top. On a dustbowl, tailor-made to suit home team spinners, Warne took 4 wickets but could not take the all important wicket of Dravid. Coming in to bat at 15/2, Dravid faced 295 balls scoring 137 runs – his maiden hundred in county championships. Dravid scored 73 not out in the 2nd innings guiding Kent to a six wicket victory as Warne went wicketless.
In their last county game of the season, Kent needed one bonus point to prevent themselves from being relegated to the Second Division. Dravid made sure they stay put in the First Division by fetching that one bonus point with an inning of 77 runs.
Dravid concluded a successful stint with Kent aggregating 1221 runs from 16 first class matches(15 county games and 1 tour game against Zimbabwe) at an average of 55.50 including 2 hundreds and 8 fifties. He shouldered Kent's batting single-handedly as the second best Kent batsman during the same period, Paul Nixon, scored just 567 runs at an average of 33.35 in 17 matches. Dravid contributed to Kent's county campaign not just with the bat but also with his fielding and bowling taking 14 catches and 4 wickets at an average of 32.00.
Indian Premier League and Champions League
Rahul Dravid played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2008, 2009 and 2010. Later he played for Rajasthan Royals and led it to finals of Champions League T20 in 2013, and play-offs of Indian Premier League in 2013. Dravid announced retirement from Twenty20 after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 in September–October 2013.
Playing style
Dravid was known for his technique, and has been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team. In the beginning, he was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However, he later scored consistently in ODIs as well, earning him the ICC Player of the Year award. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements is now used as his nickname. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket, with an average of 52.31; this included five double centuries. In one-dayers, he averaged 39.16, with a strike rate of 71.23. He is one of the few Indians whose Test average is better at away than at home, averaging almost five runs more on foreign pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's Test average in abroad is 55.53, and his Test average at home is 50.76; his ODI average abroad is 37.93 and his ODI average at home is 43.11. Dravid averages 66.34 runs in Indian Test victories. and 50.69 runs in ODIs.
Dravid's sole Test wicket was of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test match against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs.
Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is a world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings played since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively.
He was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman, Dravid scored 50 runs not out in 22 balls (a strike rate of 227.27) against New Zealand in Hyderabad on 15 November 2003, the second fastest 50 among Indian batsmen. Only Ajit Agarkar's 67 runs off 21 balls is faster than that of Dravid.
In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year award by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
After reaching 10,000 Test runs milestone, he said, "It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."
Dravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is the fourth highest run scorer in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis.
Controversies
Ball-tampering incident
In January 2004, Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence, although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his match fee.
Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident".
Captaincy
Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests.
One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs not out with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. In this test match Sehwag scored triple century first time. He became the first Indian to score triple century in test with a score of 309.
In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling it to draw the series 1–1. The defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch, which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings.
After India failed to qualify for the final of the DLF Cup, Dravid, the skipper, was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.
He was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after his then IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh out of the eight teams that participated in the 2008 season.
Achievements and awards
National honours
1998 – Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in cricket
2004 – Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian award
2013 – Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award
Other honours
1999 – CEAT International Cricketer of the World Cup
2000 – Dravid was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
2004 – ICC Cricketer of the year – Highest award in the ICC listings
2004 – ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year
2004 – MTV Youth Icon of the Year
2006 – Captain of the ICC's Test Team
2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Dev Anand
2012 – Don Bradman Award with Glenn McGrath
2015 – Wisden India's Highest Impact Test Batsman
2018 – ICC Hall of Fame
Personal life
Family
On 4 May 2003 he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. Vijeta Pendharkar is also from Deshastha Brahmin community as Dravid. They have two children: Samit, born in 2005, and Anvay, born in 2009. Dravid is fluent in Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and English.
Commercial endorsements
Rahul Dravid has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Reebok (1996 – present), Pepsi (1997 present), Kissan (Unknown), Castrol (2001 – present), Hutch
(2003), Karnataka Tourism (2004), Max Life (2005 – present), Bank of Baroda (2005 – present), Citizen (2006 – present), Skyline Construction (2006 – present), Sansui (2007), Gillette (2007 – present), Samsung (2002 – 2004), World Trade Center Noida (2013– present),
CRED (2021-present).
Social commitments
Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)
UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign
Biographies
Books
Two biographies have been written on Rahul Dravid and his career:
Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004
The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005
A collection of articles, testimonials and interviews related to Dravid was released by ESPNcricinfo following his retirement. The book was titled Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel.
See also
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman
Virendra Sehwag
References
External links
Indian cricketers
India Test cricketers
India One Day International cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
India Test cricket captains
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Karnataka cricketers
South Zone cricketers
Kent cricketers
Scotland cricketers
ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers
ICC World XI One Day International cricketers
World XI Test cricketers
Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers
Canterbury cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Rajasthan Royals cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
1973 births
Living people
Cricketers from Indore
Cricketers from Bangalore
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year
Marathi people
Indian cricket coaches
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports
Indian cricket commentators
Wicket-keepers | false | [
"Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the under-19 team finished runners up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Known for his sound batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall.\n\nBorn in a Marathi family and raised in Bangalore, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented Karnataka at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.\n\nAs of December 2016, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. In 2004, after completing his century against Bangladesh in Chittagong, he became the first player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played. He has faced 31258 balls, which is the highest number of balls faced by any player in test cricket. He has also spent 44152 minutes at the crease, which is the highest time spent on crease by any player in test cricket. Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are currently the highest scoring partnership in Test cricket history having scored 6920 runs combined when batting together for India.\n\nIn August 2011, after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.\n\nRahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award, India's fourth and third highest civilian awards respectively.\n\nIn 2014, Rahul Dravid joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with GoSports Foundation he is mentoring India's future Olympians and Paralympians as part of the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. Indian badminton player Prannoy Kumar, Para-swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and young Golfer S. Chikkarangappa was part of the initial group of athletes to be mentored by Rahul Dravid. In July 2018, Dravid became the fifth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.\n\nEarly life\nDravid was born in a Marathi-Speaking Brahmin family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His family later moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, where he was raised. His mother tongue is Marathi. Dravid's father Sharad Dravid worked for a company that makes jams and preserves, giving rise to the later nickname Jammy. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore. Dravid has a younger brother named Vijay. He did his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore. He was selected to India's national cricket team while working towards an MBA at St Joseph's College of Business Administration. He is fluent in several languages: Marathi, Kannada, English and Hindi.\n\nFormative years and domestic career\nDravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented Karnataka at the under-15, the under-17 and the under-19 levels. Former cricketer Keki Tarapore first noticed Dravid's talent while coaching at a summer camp in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dravid scored a century for his school team. He also played as wicket-keeper.\n\nDravid made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991, while still attending college. Playing alongside future India teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath against Maharashtra in Pune, he scored 82 runs in the match, which ended in a draw. He followed it up with a century against Bengal and three successive centuries after. However, Dravid's first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries and finished up with 380 runs at an average of 63.30, getting selected for the South Zone cricket team in the Duleep Trophy. Dravid's caught the national team selectors' eye with his good performances for India A in the home series against England A in 1994–95.\n\nInternational career\n\nDebut\nDravid, who had been knocking at the doors of Indian national cricket team for quite a while with his consistent performance in domestic cricket, received his first national call in October 1994, for the last two matches of the Wills World Series. However, he could not break into the playing eleven. He went back to the domestic circuit and kept knocking harder. So much so, that when the selectors announced the Indian team for the 1996 World Cup sans Dravid, an Indian daily newspaper carried a headline – \"Rahul Dravid gets a raw deal\". Dravid eventually made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the Singer Cup held in Singapore immediately after the 1996 World Cup, replacing Vinod Kambli. He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat, scoring just three runs before being dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan, but took two catches in the match. He followed it up with another failure in the next game scoring just four runs before getting run out against Pakistan.\n\nIn contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian squad touring England on the backdrop of a consistent performance in domestic cricket for five years. Fine performances in the tour games including fifties against Gloucestershire and Leicestershire failed to earn him a place in the team for the First Test. He finally made his Test debut at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series at the expense of injured senior batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. Manjrekar, who was suffering from an ankle injury, was to undergo a fitness test on the morning of the Second Test. Dravid had already been informed that he would play if Manjrekar fails the test. As Manjrekar failed the fitness test, ten minutes before the toss, Sandeep Patil, the then Indian coach, went up to Dravid to inform him that he was indeed going to make his debut that day. Patil recalled years later:\n\nComing in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships, first with another debutante Sourav Ganguly and then with Indian lower order, securing a vital first innings lead for his team. Dravid scored 95 runs before getting out to the bowling of Chris Lewis. He was just five runs short of a landmark debut hundred when he nicked a Lewis delivery to the keeper and walked even before umpire's decision. He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismiss Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Srinath. In the next tour game against British Universities, Dravid scored a hundred. He scored another fifty in the first innings of the Third Test. Dravid concluded a successful debut series with an impressive average of 62.33 from two Test matches.\n\n1996–98: A tale of two formats\nDravid's early years in international cricket mirrored his international debut. He had contrasting fortunes in the long and the shorter format of the game. While he straightaway made a name for himself in Test cricket, he had to struggle quite a bit to make a mark in ODIs.\n\nAfter a successful Test debut in England, Dravid played in the one-off Test against Australia in Delhi – his first Test in India. Batting at no. 6, he scored 40 runs in the first innings. Dravid batted at no. 3 position for the first time in the First Test of the three-match home series against South Africa in Ahmedabad in November 1996. He didn't do too well in the series scoring just 175 runs at a modest average of 29.16.\n\nTwo weeks later, India toured South Africa for a three–match Test series. Chasing a target of 395 runs in the First Test, Indian team bundled out meekly for 66 runs on the Durban pitch that provided excessive bounce and seam movement. Dravid, batting at no. 6, was the only Indian batsman who reached double figures in the innings scoring 27 not out. He was promoted to the no. 3 slot again in the second innings of the Second Test, a move that paid rich dividends in the ensuing Test. He almost won the Third Test for India with his maiden test hundred in the first innings scoring 148 runs and another 81 runs in the second innings at Wanderers before the thunderstorms, dim light and Cullinan's hundred saved the day for South Africa enabling them to draw the match. Dravid's performance in this Test earned him his first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. He top scored for India in the series with 277 runs at an average of 55.40.\n\nDravid continued in the same vein in the West Indies where he once again top scored for India in the five–match Test series aggregating 360 runs at an average of 72.00 including four fifties. 92 runs scored in the first innings of the fifth match in Georgetown earned him a joint Man of the Match award along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With this series, Dravid concluded a successful 1996/97 Test season, topping the international runs chart with 852 runs from 12 matches at an average of 50.11 with six fifties and one hundred.\n\nDravid continued his good run scoring seven fifties in the next eight Tests that included fifties in six consecutive innings (three each against Sri Lanka and Australia), becoming only the second Indian to do so after Gundappa Vishwanath. By the end of 1997/98 Test season, he had scored 15 fifties in 22 Tests which included four scores of nineties but just a solitary hundred.\n\nThe century drought came to an end in the 1998/99 Test season when he further raised the bar of his performance scoring 752 runs in seven Tests at an average of 62.66 that included four hundreds and one fifty and in the process topping the runs chart for India for the season. The first of those four hundreds came on the Zimbabwe tour. Dravid top scored in both the innings against Zimbabwe scoring 118 and 44 runs respectively however, India lost the one-off Test.\n\nThe Zimbabwe tour was followed by a tour to New Zealand. First Test having been abandoned without a ball being bowled, the series started for Dravid with the first duck of his Test career in the first innings of the Second Test and ended with hundreds in both the innings of the Third Test in Hamilton. He scored 190 and 103 not out in the first and the second innings respectively, becoming only the third Indian batsman, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to score a century in both innings of a Test match. Dravid topped the runs table for the series with 321 runs from two matches at an average of 107.00 but could not prevent India from losing the series 0–1.\n\nLater that month, India played a two Test home series against Pakistan. Dravid didn't contribute much with the bat. India lost the First Test but won the Second Test in Delhi riding on Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul. Dravid played his part in the 10-wicket haul by taking a catch to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed who was Kumble's eighth victim of the innings. The Indo-Pak Test series was followed by the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship. Dravid couldn't do much with the bat as India went on to lose the riot-affected First Test of the championship against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. India went to Sri Lanka to play the Second Test of the championship. Dravid scored his fourth hundred of the season at Colombo in the first innings of the match. He also effected a brilliant run out of Russel Arnold during Sri Lankan innings fielding at short leg. On the fourth morning, Dravid got injured while fielding at the same position when the ball from Jayawardene's pull shot hit his face through the helmet grill. He didn't come out to bat in the second innings due to the injury. The match ended in a draw as India failed to qualify for the Finals of the championship.\n\nIn a stark contrast to his Test career, Dravid had to struggle a lot to make a mark in the ODIs. Between his ODI debut in April 1996 and the end of 1998 calendar year, Dravid regularly found himself in and out of the ODI team.\n\nDravid tasted first success of his ODI career in the 1996 'Friendship' Cup against Pakistan in the tough conditions of Toronto. He emerged as the highest scorer of the series with 220 runs in five matches at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of 68.53. He won his first ODI Man of the Match award for the 46 runs scored in the low scoring third game of the series. He top scored for India in the Standard Bank International One-Day Series 1996/97 in South Africa with 280 runs from eight games at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 60.73, the highlight being a Man of the Match award-winning performance (84 runs, one catch) in the Final of the series that came in a losing cause. He was the second highest run scorer for India in the four-match bilateral ODI series in the West Indies in 1996/97 with 121 runs at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 57.61. Dravid's maiden ODI hundred came in a losing cause in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup against Pakistan in Chennai. Dravid top scored for India in the quadrangular event with 189 runs from three games at an average of 94.50 and a strike rate of 75.60 however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the series.\n\nHowever, Dravid's achievements in the ODIs were dwarfed by his failures in the shorter format of the game. 14 runs from two games in the 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup; 20 runs from two innings in the Singer World Series; 65 runs from four innings in the 1997 'Friendship' Cup; 88 runs from four games in the 1998 Coca-Cola Triangular Series including a 22-ball five runs and a 21-ball one run innings, both coming against Bangladesh; 32 runs from four games in the 1998 'Friendship' Cup; a slew of such poor performances often forced him to the sidelines of the India ODI squad. By the end of 1998, Dravid had scored 1709 runs in 65 ODIs at a humble average of 31.64 with a poor strike rate of 63.48.\n\nBy now, Dravid had been branded as a Test specialist. While he continued to score heavily in Test cricket, his poor strike rate in ODIs came under scanner. He drew criticism for not being able to adjust his style of play to the needs of ODI cricket, his lack of attacking capability and play big strokes. However, Dravid worked hard and re-tooled his game by increasing his range of strokes and adapting his batting style to suit the requirements of ODI cricket. He learned to pace his innings cleverly without going for the slogs.\n\nDravid's ODI renaissance began during the 1998/99 New Zealand tour. He scored a run-a-ball hundred in the first match of the bilateral ODI series that earned him his third Man of the Match award in ODIs. The hundred came in a losing cause. However, his effort of 51 runs from 71 balls in the Fourth ODI came in India's victory and earned him his second Man of the Match award of the series. He ended as the top scorer of the series with 309 runs from five games at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 84.65. Dravid scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in 1998/99 Pepsi Cup at Nagpur adding a record 236 runs for the 2nd wicket with Ganguly, who also scored a hundred in the match. Uncharacteristically, Dravid was the faster of the two scoring 116 of 118 deliveries. In the next match against Pakistan, he bowled four overs and took the wicket of Saeed Anwar, out caught behind by wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. This was his first wicket in international cricket.\n\nDravid warmed up for his debut World Cup with two fifties in the 1998–99 Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah, one each against England and Pakistan. Standing-in as the substitute wicket-keeper in the third match of the series for Nayan Mongia, who got injured during keeping, Dravid effected two dismissals. He first stumped Graeme Hick off Sunil Joshi's bowling, who became Dravid's first victim as a wicket-keeper, and then caught Neil Fairbrother off Ajay Jadeja's bowling. He top scored for India in the tournament, though his last ODI innings before the World Cup was a golden duck against Pakistan, in the Final of the series.\n\nDebut World Cup success\n\nDravid announced his form in England hitting consecutive fifties against Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the warm-up games.\n\nHe made his World Cup debut against South Africa at Hove striking a half century, but scored just 13 in the next game against Zimbabwe. India lost both the games. Having lost the first two games, India needed to win the remaining three games of the first round to have any chance of advancing into the Super Six stage. Dravid put up a partnership of 237 runs with Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol – a World Cup record – and in the process hit his maiden World Cup hundred, helping India to a 94-run victory. India's designated keeper Mongia left the field at the end of 9th over during Kenyan innings, forcing Dravid to keep the wickets for the rest of the innings. In the absence of injured Nayan Mongia, Dravid played his first ODI as a designated keeper against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Dravid once again staged a record breaking partnership worth 318 runs – the first ever three hundred run partnership in ODI history – but this time with Sourav Ganguly, guiding India to a 157-run win. Dravid scored 145 runs from 129 balls with 17 fours and a six, becoming the second batsman in World Cup history to hit back-to-back hundreds. Dravid struck a fine fifty in the last group match as India defeated England to advance into the Super Six stage. Dravid scored 2, 61 & 29 in the three Super Six matches against Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand respectively. India failed to qualify for the semi-finals having lost to Australia and New Zealand but achieved a consolation victory against Pakistan in a tense game, what with the military conflict going on between the two countries in Kashmir at the same time. Dravid emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 461 runs from 8 games at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate of 85.52.\n\nDravid's post-World Cup campaign started on a poor note with just 40 runs coming in 4 games of Aiwa Cup in August 1999. He soon came into his own, top-scoring for India in two consecutive limited-overs series – the Singapore Challenge, the highlight being a hundred in the Final coming in a lost cause, and the DMC Cup, the highlight being a match winning effort (77 runs, 4 catches) in the series decider for which he received man-of-the-match award. Dravid topped the international runs chart for 1999 cricket season across all formats scoring 782 runs from 19 matches. By now, Dravid had started to keep wickets on an infrequent basis with India fielding him as designated wicket-keeper in five out of 10 ODIs played in the three events.\n\nDravid kick-started his post World Cup Test season with a decent outing against New Zealand in the 3-match home series. His best effort of the series came in the second innings of the First test at Mohali scoring 144, helping India salvage a draw after being bowled out for 83 runs in the First innings. This was Dravid's sixth test hundred but his first test hundred on Indian soil. Dravid did well in the 3–2 series win against New Zealand in the bilateral ODI series, scoring 240 runs in 5 games at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 83.62, ending as the second highest scorer in the series. His career best effort in ODIs came in this series in the second game at Hyderabad where he scored run-a-ball 153 runs which included 15 fours and two sixes. He featured in a 331-run partnership with Tendulkar, which was the highest partnership in ODI cricket history, a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken in 2015. In 1999, Dravid scored 1761 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 46.34 and a strike rate of 75.16 including 6 hundreds and 8 fifties and featured in two 300+ partnerships.\n\nIndia toured Australia in December 1999 for a 3-match test series and a triangular ODI tournament. Although Dravid scored a hundred against Tasmania in the practice match, he failed miserably with the bat in the Test series as India slumped to a 0–3 whitewash. He did reasonably well in the 1999–2000 Carlton & United Series scoring 3 fifties in the triangular event however, India failed to qualify for the Final of the tournament.\n\nDravid's poor form in Tests continued as India suffered a 0–2 whitewash against South Africa in a home series. He had moderate success in the bilateral ODI series against South Africa. He contributed to India's 3–2 series win with 208 runs at an average of 41.60 which included 2 fifties and three wickets at an average of 22.66 topping the bowling average chart for the series. His career best bowling figure of 2/43 from nine overs in the First ODI at Kochi, was also the best bowling figure by any bowler in that particular match.\n\nRise through the ranks\nIn February 2000, Tendulkar's resignation from captaincy led to the promotion of Ganguly, the vice-captain then, as the new captain of the Indian team. In May 2000, while Dravid was busy playing county cricket in England, he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team announced for the Asia cup.\n\nIndia did well in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. Indian team, coming out of the shadows of the infamous match fixing scandal, showed a lot of character under the new leadership of Ganguly and Dravid, beating Kenya, Australia and South Africa in consecutive matches to reach the Finals. Although India lost to New Zealand in the Finals, their spirited performance in the tournament helped restoring public faith back in Indian cricket. Dravid scored 157 runs in 4 matches of the tournament, at an average of 52.33, including 2 fifties. Dravid scored 85 runs in a match against Zimbabwe in the 2000–01 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy while opening the innings but was forced to miss the rest of the tournament because of an injury.\n\nIndia kick started the new Test season with a 9-wicket win against Bangladesh. Dravid played a brisk knock of 41 runs from 49 balls, including 5 fours and a six, while chasing a target of 63 runs. The ensuing test series against Zimbabwe was John Wright's first assignment as Indian coach. Dravid, who was instrumental in Wright's appointment as India's first foreign head coach, welcomed him with his maiden double hundred. He scored 200 not out in the first inning and 70 not out in the second, guiding India to a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Zimbabwe. He scored 162 in the drawn Second test to end the series with an average of 432.00 – highest batting average by an Indian in a series across all formats.\n\nDravid captained the Indian team for the first time in the fifth match of the bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe in the absence of Ganguly who was serving suspension. Riding on Agarkar's all-round performance, Dravid led India to a 39-run victory in his maiden ODI as Indian captain.\n\nHistory at Eden\nThe Australian team toured India in February 2001 for what was being billed as the Final Frontier for Steve Waugh's all conquering men, who were coming on the back of 15 consecutive Test wins. Dravid failed in the first innings of the First Test but displayed strong resilience in Tendulkar's company in the second innings. Dravid's 196 ball long resistance finally ended when he got out bowled to Warne for 39 runs. Australians extended their winning streak to 16 Tests as they beat India convincingly by 10 wickets inside three days.\n\nThe Australian juggernaut seemed unstoppable as they looked on course towards their 17th consecutive victory in the Second Test at the Eden Gardens, when they bowled India out for meagre 171 in the first innings and enforced a follow-on after securing a massive lead of 274 runs. In the second innings, Laxman, who had scored a fine fifty in the first innings, was promoted to no. 3 position which had been Dravid's usual spot for quite sometime now, while Dravid, who had gotten out bowled to Warne for second time in a row in the first innings for just 25 runs, was relegated to no. 6 position. When Dravid joined Laxman in the middle on the third day of the Test, with scoreboard reading 232/4 and India still needing 42 runs to avoid an innings defeat, another convincing win for Australia looked inevitable. Instead, two of them staged one of the greatest fightbacks in cricketing history.\n\nDravid and Laxman played out the remaining time on the third day and whole of the fourth day, denying Australia any wicket on Day 4. Dravid, angered by the flak that the Indian team had been receiving lately in the media coverage, celebrated his hundred in an uncharacteristic fashion brandishing his bat at the press box. Eventually, Laxman got out on the fifth morning bringing the 376-runs partnership to an end. Dravid soon perished getting run out for 180 while trying to force the pace. Ganguly declared the innings at 657/7, setting Australia a target of 384 runs with 75 overs left in the match. An inspired team India bowled superbly to dismiss Australia for 212 in 68.3 overs. India won the match by 171 runs. This was only the third instance of a team winning a Test after following-on and India became the 2nd team to do so.\n\nDravid scored 81 runs in the first innings of the Third Test and took 4 catches in the match as India defeated Australia at Chennai in a nail biting finish to clinch the series 2–1. Dravid scored 80 in the first of the 5-match ODI series at his home ground as India won the match by 60 runs. He didn't do too well in the remaining 4 ODIs as Australia won the series 3–2. Dravid topped the averages for the 2000/01 Test season with 839 runs from six matches at an average of 104.87.\n\nDravid had a decent outing in Zimbabwe, scoring 137 runs from 134 balls in the First Tour game and aggregating 138 runs at an average of 69.00 from the drawn Test series. In the ensuing triangular ODI series, he aggregated 121 runs from 5 matches at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 101.68, the highlight being an unbeaten 72 off 64 balls, while chasing a target of 235 against Zimbabwe in the 3rd match of the series, guiding India to a 4-wicket win with four balls to spare. He was adjudged man of the match for his match winning knock.\n\nOn the next tour to Sri Lanka, India lost the first three matches of the triangular event. In the absence of suspended Ganguly, Dravid captained the side in the 4th match leading them to their first victory of the series. India won the next two matches to qualify for the Final. Dravid played crucial innings in all the three victories. Eventually, India lost the Final to Sri Lanka. He top scored for India in the series with 259 runs from seven matches at an average of 51.80 and a strike rate of 59.81. Reinstated to his usual no. 3 position in the absence of injured Laxman, Dravid top scored for India in the ensuing 3-Test series as well with 235 runs at an average of 47.00. The highlight for Dravid was 75 runs scored in the tough fourth innings chase of the Second Test – a crucial contribution to India's first Test win in Sri Lanka since 1993 despite the absence of key players like Tendulkar, Laxman, Srinath and Kumble.\n\nDravid had decent success in Standard Bank tri-series on South Africa tour, scoring 214 runs (including 3 fifties) at an average of 53.50 and a strike rate of 71.81. He also kept wickets in the final two ODIs of the series effecting 3 stumpings. The highlight for Dravid in the ensuing Test series came in the second innings of the Second Test. India, having failed to last hundred overs in any of the previous three innings in the series, needed to bat out four sessions in the Second Test to save the match. They started on a poor note losing their first wicket in the first over with no runs on the scoreboard. However, Dravid forged an important partnership of 171 runs with Dasgupta that lasted for 83.2 overs taking India to the brink of safety. Poor weather helped India salvage a draw as only 96.2 overs could be bowled in the innings. Dravid captained the team in the 'unofficial' Third test in the absence of injured Ganguly, which India lost by an innings margin.\n\nBy the end of the South African tour, Dravid had started experiencing problem in his right shoulder. Although he played the ensuing home test series against England, he pulled out of the six-match bilateral ODI series to undergo shoulder rehabilitation program in South Africa. He returned for the Zimbabwe's tour of India but performed below par, scoring a fifty each in the Test series and the bilateral ODI series.\n\n2002–2006: Peak years\nDravid hit the peak form of his career in 2002. Between Season 2002 and Season 2006, Dravid was the second highest scorer overall and top scorer for India across formats, scoring 8,914 runs from 174 matches at an average of 54.02, including 19 hundreds.\n\nDravid had a decent outing in West Indies in 2002. The highlights for him included – hitting a hundred with a swollen jaw and helping India avoid the follow-on in the process at Georgetown in the drawn First Test; contributing with a fifty and four catches to India's victory in the Second Test at Port of Spain – India's first Test victory in West Indies since 1975–76; and another fifty in the drawn Fourth Test with a wicket to boot – that of Ridley Jacobs who was batting on 118. This was Dravid's only wicket in Test cricket. He played as India's designated keeper in the ODI series but didn't contribute much with the bat in the 2–1 series win.\n\nA quartet of hundreds\nIndia's tour of England in 2002 started with a triangular ODI event involving India, England and Sri Lanka. India emerged as the winners of the series beating England in the Final – their first victory after nine consecutive defeats in one-day finals. Dravid played as designated keeper in six out of seven matches effecting nine dismissals (6 catches, 3 stumpings) – most by a keeper in the series. He also did well with the bat aggregating 245 runs at an average of 49.00 including three fifties. His performance against Sri Lanka in fourth ODI (64 runs, 1 catch) earned him a man of the match award.\n\nIndia lost the first of the four match Test series. Having conceded a 260 runs lead in the first innings of the Second Test at Nottingham, Indians were in a spot of bother. However, Dravid led the fightback in the second innings with a hundred as Indians managed to earn a draw.\n\nGanguly won the toss in the Third Test and took a bold decision to bat first on a gloomy overcast morning at Headingley on a pitch known to be traditionally conducive for fast and swing bowling. Having lost an early wicket, Dravid weathered the storm in company of Sanjay Bangar. They played cautiously, taking body blows on a pitch with uneven bounce. Dravid completed his second hundred of the series in the process. As the conditions became more and more conducive for batting, the Indian batsmen piled on England's misery. Indians declared the innings on 628/8 and then bowled England out twice to register their first test victory in England since 1986. Despite being outscored by Tendulkar, Dravid was awarded man of the match for his efforts. Dravid scored a double hundred in the drawn Fourth Test to notch up his second consecutive man of the match award of the series. Christopher Martin-Jenkins noted during the Fourth Test: Dravid aggregated 602 runs in the series from four matches at an average of 100.33, including three hundreds and a fifty and was adjudged joint man of the series along with Michael Vaughan.\n\nIndia jointly shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Dravid contributed to India's successful campaign with 120 runs at an average of 60.00 and five dismissals behind the wicket. Dravid scored a hundred in the First Test of the three match home series against West Indies becoming the first Indian batsman to score hundreds in four consecutive Test innings but had to retire soon after owing to severe cramps. Dravid did well in the subsequent bilateral 7-match ODI series aggregating 300 runs at an average of 75.00 and a strike rate of 89.82 including one hundred and two fifties. He also effected 7 dismissals (6 catches, 1 stumping) in the series. India trailing 1–2, needed 325 runs to win the Fourth ODI and level the series. Dravid scored a hundred leading India to a successful chase. He once again scored a crucial fifty in the Sixth ODI as India once again leveled the series after trailing 2–3. India, however, lost the last match to lose the series 3–4.\n\nDravid top scored for India in the two-match Test series in New Zealand as India slumped to a whitewash. He played as designated keeper in six of the 7-match bilateral ODI series and effected seven dismissals but fared poorly with the bat as India were handed a 2-5 drubbing by the New Zealand.\n\n2003 Cricket World Cup\nDravid arrived in South Africa with the Indian squad to participate in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in the capacity of first-choice keeper-batsman as part of their seven batsmen-four bowlers strategy – an experiment that had brought success to the team in the past year. The idea was that making Dravid keep wickets allowed India to accommodate an extra specialist batsman. The strategy worked out well for India in the World Cup. India recovered from a less than convincing victory against minnows Netherlands and a loss to Australia in the league stage and embarked on a dream run winning eight consecutive matches to qualify for the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1983. India eventually lost the Final to Australia ending as runner-up in the tournament. Dravid contributed to India's campaign with 318 runs at an average of 63.60 and 16 dismissals (15 catches, 1 stumping). Highlights for Dravid in the tournament included a fifty against England, 44 not out against Pakistan in a successful chase and an unbeaten fifty in another successful chase against New Zealand.\n\nDravid topped the international runs chart for 2003/04 cricket season across formats aggregating 1993 runs from 31 matches at an average of 64.29 including three double hundreds. First of those came against New Zealand in the first of the two-test home series at Ahmedabad. Dravid scored 222 runs in the first innings and 73 runs in the second innings receiving a man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid captained Indian Test Team for the first time in the second game of the series at Mohali in the absence of Ganguly. Both the matches ended in a draw. Dravid top scored in the series with 313 runs at an average of 78.25. India next participated in TVS cup alongside New Zealand and Australia. India lost to Australia in the Final. Dravid scored two fifties in the series but the highlight was his fifty against New Zealand in the ninth match that came in just 22 balls – second fastest fifty by an Indian.\n\nAn Eden encore\n\nAfter earning a draw in the first of the four-match Test series in Australia, Indians found themselves reeling at 85/4 in the Second Test at Adelaide after Australia had piled 556 runs in the first innings when Laxman joined Dravid in the middle. They batted for 93.5 overs bringing about their second 300-run partnership adding 303 runs together before Laxman perished for 148 runs. However, Dravid continued to complete his second double hundred of the season. He was the last man out for 233 runs as India conceded a marginal first innings lead of 33 runs to Australia. India bowled Australia out for paltry score of 196 riding on Agarkar's six-wicket haul, and were set a target of 230 runs to win the match. Dravid helped India tread through a tricky chase with an unbeaten fifty as India registered their first test victory in Australia since 1980/81 to go up 1–0 in the series. This was the first time that Australians were 0-1 down in a home series since 1994. Dravid won the man of the match award for his efforts. Dravid registered a score of ninety each in the next two tests as Australia leveled the series 1–1. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 619 runs at an average of 123.80 and was awarded player of the series for his efforts.\n\nDravid did moderately well in the ensuing VB series with three fifties in the league stage, all of which came in winning cause. However, India lost the best-of-three finals to Australia 2–0. Dravid was fined half his match fee for applying cough lozenge on the ball during a match in the series against Zimbabwe – an act that was claimed to be an innocent mistake by coach John Wright.\n\nIndia visited Pakistan in March 2004 to participate in a bilateral Test series for the first time since 1989/90. Prior to the Test series, India participated and won the 5-match ODI series 3–2. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 73.59. Dravid scored 99 runs in the First ODI helping India post an imposing total of 349. He also took the important catch of threatening Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting on 122, as India went on to win the match by five runs. When Indians were trailing in the series 1–2, Dravid helped India level the series with an unbeaten fifty during a successful chase in the Fourth ODI.\n\nCaptaincy\nDravid captained India in the first two tests in the absence of injured Ganguly and led India to their first-ever Test victory in Pakistan. Dravid, standing in only his second test as team's captain, took a bold and controversial decision during First Test at Multan that divided the cricket fraternity. Pakistani cricketers had been on field for 150+ overs as India posted a total in excess of 600 runs in the first innings. Dravid, who wanted to have a crack at the tired Pakistani batsmen in the final hour of second day's play, declared Indian innings with Tendulkar batting at 194, just six runs short of his double century. While some praised the team before personal milestones approach of the Indian captain, most criticized Dravid's timing of declaration as there were no pressing concerns and there was ample time left in the match to try and bowl Pakistan out twice. While Tendulkar was admittedly disappointed, any rumours of rift between him and Dravid were quashed by both the cricketers and the team management, who claimed that the matter had been discussed and sorted amicably behind closed doors. India eventually went on to win the match by innings margin. Pakistan leveled the series beating India in the Second Test. Dravid slammed a double hundred in the Third Test at Rawalpindi – his third double hundred of the season. He scored 270 runs – his career best performance – before getting out to reverse sweep trying to force the pace. India went on to win the match and the series – their first series victory outside India since 1993. Dravid was adjudged man of the match for his effort.\n\nDravid was appointed the captain for the Indian team for 2007 World Cup, where India had an unsuccessful campaign.\n\nDuring India's unsuccessful tour of England in 2011, in which their 4–0 loss cost them the top rank in Test cricket, Dravid made three centuries.\n\n2011 Tour of England\nHaving regained his form on the tour to West Indies, where he scored a match-winning hundred in Sabina park, Jamaica, Dravid then toured England in what was billed as the series which would decide the World No. 1 ranking in tests.\nIn the first test at Lord's, in reply to England's 474, Dravid scored an unbeaten 103, his first hundred at the ground where he debuted in 1996. He received scant support from his teammates as India were bowled out for 286 and lost the test. The 2nd test at Trentbridge, Nottingham again saw Dravid in brilliant form. Sent out to open the batting in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir, he scored his second successive hundred. His 117 though, again came in a losing cause, as a collapse of 6 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings led to a massive defeat by 319 runs. Dravid failed in both innings in the third test at Birmingham, as India lost by an innings and 242 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their history. However, he came back brilliantly in the fourth and final match at The Oval. Again opening the batting in place of Gambhir, he scored an unbeaten 146 out of India's total of 300, carrying his bat through the innings. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as India lost the match, completing a 0–4 whitewash.\nIn all, he scored 461 runs in the four matches at an average of 76.83 with three hundreds. He accounted for over 26% of India's runs in the series and was named India's man of the series by England coach Andy Flower. His performance in the series was met with widespread admiration and was hailed by some as one of his finest ever series\n\nRetirement\nRahul Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 2009, but was selected again for an ODI series in England in 2011, surprising even Dravid himself since, although he had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he had not expected to be recalled. After being selected, he announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the series. He played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 16 September 2011, scoring 69 runs from 79 balls before being bowled by Graeme Swann. His last limited-overs international match was his debut T20I match; he announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.\n\nDravid announced his retirement from Test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, after the 2011–12 tour of Australia, but he said that he would captain the Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.\n\nIn July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.\n\nCoaching\nTowards the end of his playing career, Dravid took on a role as mentor of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, officially taking over in 2014. During this time, he also became involved with the Indian national team, serving as mentor for the team's tour of England in 2014. After leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the 2015 IPL season, he was appointed as the head coach of the India U-19 and India A teams. Dravid achieved immense success as coach, with the U-19s reaching the finals of the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Two years later, the team went on to win the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, beating Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup, the most by any national side. Dravid was credited with bringing up future national team players including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar. Alongside his coaching roles, Dravid took on several mentor roles, including at the Delhi Daredevils IPL team.\n\nIn July 2019, following his four-year stint as coach of the junior teams, Dravid was appointed Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He was in charge of \"overseeing all cricket related activities at NCA was involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA\". As head of NCA, he was widely praised for developing a steady supply of talent to the senior team and revamping player fitness and rehabilitation regiments.\n\nIn November 2021, he was appointed as head coach of the Indian national cricket team.\n\nCounty stint\n\nDravid had always been keen on further honing his batting skills in testing English conditions by playing in county cricket. He had discussed about the prospects regarding the same with John Wright, the former New Zealand cricketer and incumbent Kent coach, during India's 1998–99 tour of New Zealand. Wright was particularly impressed with Dravid's performance on that tour, especially his twin hundreds at Hamilton. The talks finally materialized and Dravid made his county debut for Kent in April 2000. His co-debutante Ganguly made his county debuted in the same match, albeit for the opposite team.\n\nKent offer had come as a welcome change for Dravid. There was too much negativity surrounding Indian cricket marred by match fixing controversy. Dravid himself had been struggling to score runs in Tests for quite some time now. The county stint gave him a chance to \"get away to a new environment\" and \"relax\". The wide variety of pitches and weather conditions in England and a full season of intense county cricket against professional cricketers gave him a chance to further his cricketing education and learn things about his game.\n\nDravid made the most of this opportunity. In his 2nd game for Kent, Dravid scored a fluid 182 propelling them to an innings and 163 runs victory over the touring Zimbabwe side. Out of 7 first class tour games that Zimbabwe played on that tour, Kent was the only team that managed to beat them. Dravid hit another fifty in a draw against Surrey. The newly appointed vice-captain had to leave the county championship temporarily, missing two championship games and two one day games, to fulfill his national commitment. Indian team, Dravid included, fared poorly in the Asia cup and failed to qualify for the Final. Subsequently, Dravid returned to England to resume his county sojourn with Kent.\n\nIn July 2000, Kent's away match against Hampshire at Portsmouth was billed as a showdown between two great cricketers- Warne and Dravid. Dravid came out on top. On a dustbowl, tailor-made to suit home team spinners, Warne took 4 wickets but could not take the all important wicket of Dravid. Coming in to bat at 15/2, Dravid faced 295 balls scoring 137 runs – his maiden hundred in county championships. Dravid scored 73 not out in the 2nd innings guiding Kent to a six wicket victory as Warne went wicketless.\n\nIn their last county game of the season, Kent needed one bonus point to prevent themselves from being relegated to the Second Division. Dravid made sure they stay put in the First Division by fetching that one bonus point with an inning of 77 runs.\n\nDravid concluded a successful stint with Kent aggregating 1221 runs from 16 first class matches(15 county games and 1 tour game against Zimbabwe) at an average of 55.50 including 2 hundreds and 8 fifties. He shouldered Kent's batting single-handedly as the second best Kent batsman during the same period, Paul Nixon, scored just 567 runs at an average of 33.35 in 17 matches. Dravid contributed to Kent's county campaign not just with the bat but also with his fielding and bowling taking 14 catches and 4 wickets at an average of 32.00.\n\nIndian Premier League and Champions League\n\nRahul Dravid played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2008, 2009 and 2010. Later he played for Rajasthan Royals and led it to finals of Champions League T20 in 2013, and play-offs of Indian Premier League in 2013. Dravid announced retirement from Twenty20 after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 in September–October 2013.\n\nPlaying style\nDravid was known for his technique, and has been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team. In the beginning, he was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However, he later scored consistently in ODIs as well, earning him the ICC Player of the Year award. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements is now used as his nickname. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket, with an average of 52.31; this included five double centuries. In one-dayers, he averaged 39.16, with a strike rate of 71.23. He is one of the few Indians whose Test average is better at away than at home, averaging almost five runs more on foreign pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's Test average in abroad is 55.53, and his Test average at home is 50.76; his ODI average abroad is 37.93 and his ODI average at home is 43.11. Dravid averages 66.34 runs in Indian Test victories. and 50.69 runs in ODIs.\n\nDravid's sole Test wicket was of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test match against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs.\n\nDravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is a world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings played since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively.\n\nHe was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman, Dravid scored 50 runs not out in 22 balls (a strike rate of 227.27) against New Zealand in Hyderabad on 15 November 2003, the second fastest 50 among Indian batsmen. Only Ajit Agarkar's 67 runs off 21 balls is faster than that of Dravid.\n\nIn 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year award by the International Cricket Council (ICC).\n\nAfter reaching 10,000 Test runs milestone, he said, \"It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game.\"\n\nDravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is the fourth highest run scorer in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis.\n\nControversies\n\nBall-tampering incident\nIn January 2004, Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence, although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his match fee.\n\nIndian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that \"It was an innocent mistake\". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was \"just an accident\".\n\nCaptaincy\nRahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests.\n\nOne of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs not out with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. In this test match Sehwag scored triple century first time. He became the first Indian to score triple century in test with a score of 309.\n\nIn March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling it to draw the series 1–1. The defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch, which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings.\n\nAfter India failed to qualify for the final of the DLF Cup, Dravid, the skipper, was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.\n\nHe was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after his then IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh out of the eight teams that participated in the 2008 season.\n\nAchievements and awards\n\nNational honours\n 1998 – Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in cricket\n 2004 – Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian award\n2013 – Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award\n\nOther honours\n 1999 – CEAT International Cricketer of the World Cup\n 2000 – Dravid was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year.\n 2004 – ICC Cricketer of the year – Highest award in the ICC listings\n 2004 – ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year \n2004 – MTV Youth Icon of the Year \n 2006 – Captain of the ICC's Test Team\n 2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Dev Anand\n2012 – Don Bradman Award with Glenn McGrath\n2015 – Wisden India's Highest Impact Test Batsman\n2018 – ICC Hall of Fame\n\nPersonal life\n\nFamily\nOn 4 May 2003 he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. Vijeta Pendharkar is also from Deshastha Brahmin community as Dravid. They have two children: Samit, born in 2005, and Anvay, born in 2009. Dravid is fluent in Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and English.\n\nCommercial endorsements\nRahul Dravid has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Reebok (1996 – present), Pepsi (1997 present), Kissan (Unknown), Castrol (2001 – present), Hutch\n(2003), Karnataka Tourism (2004), Max Life (2005 – present), Bank of Baroda (2005 – present), Citizen (2006 – present), Skyline Construction (2006 – present), Sansui (2007), Gillette (2007 – present), Samsung (2002 – 2004), World Trade Center Noida (2013– present),\nCRED (2021-present).\n\nSocial commitments\n Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)\n UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign\n\nBiographies\n\nBooks\nTwo biographies have been written on Rahul Dravid and his career:\n Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004\n The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005\n A collection of articles, testimonials and interviews related to Dravid was released by ESPNcricinfo following his retirement. The book was titled Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel.\n\nSee also\n Sachin Tendulkar\n Sourav Ganguly\n VVS Laxman\n Virendra Sehwag\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n \n \n\nIndian cricketers\nIndia Test cricketers\nIndia One Day International cricketers\nIndia Twenty20 International cricketers\nIndia Test cricket captains\nWisden Cricketers of the Year\nKarnataka cricketers\nSouth Zone cricketers\nKent cricketers\nScotland cricketers\nACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers\nICC World XI One Day International cricketers\nWorld XI Test cricketers\nRoyal Challengers Bangalore cricketers\nCanterbury cricketers\nMarylebone Cricket Club cricketers\nRajasthan Royals cricketers\nIndia Blue cricketers\nCricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup\nCricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup\nCricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup\nRecipients of the Padma Shri in sports\n1973 births\nLiving people\nCricketers from Indore\nCricketers from Bangalore\nRecipients of the Arjuna Award\nInternational Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year\nMarathi people\nIndian cricket coaches\nRecipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports\nIndian cricket commentators\nWicket-keepers",
"Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel is an anthological biography about the Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid published in 2012 by The Walt Disney Company India Pvt. Ltd. and ESPN Cricinfo. It compiles 24 articles written about Dravid, before and during 2012, the year when he announced his retirement from international cricket. The book also features four Dravid interviews (by Cricinfo), the Bradman Oration he delivered in Australia in 2011, a summary of his statistics, and an 18-page photo gallery of his career. Many of the articles are sourced from other media articles/interviews, including many by ESPNcricinfo itself.<ref>{{cite book|title=The new book on Rahul Dravid, an anthology of articles written by cricketers, historians and journalists has been brought out in a book named Timeless Steel. Dravids wife Vijeeta has also contributed to the book in a chapter titled The perfectionist.|url=https://www.timesofindia.com/The-new-book-on-Rahul-Dravid-an-anthology-of-articles-written-by-cricketers-historians-and-journalists-has-been-brought-out-in-a-book-named-Timeless-Steel-Dravids-wife-Vijeeta-has-also-contributed-to-the-book-in-a-chapter-titled-The-perfectionist-/articleshow/14680096.cms|author=K. Sriniwas Rao|publisher=Times of India|accessdate=4 July 2014}}</ref>\n\n Reviews \n\nThe book received generally favourable reviews in the media. IBNlive.com called it an \"apt, well compiled ode to the legend.\" Times of India'' called it a \"must-read for those who want get a peek into the life\" of Dravid, but deemed Greg Chappell's article controversial. TheSportsCampus.com singled out two articles as outstanding - The Bradman Oration and the piece by Ed Smith, Dravid's Kent team-mate. Myquickreviews.com listed the quality of the pieces and the writing along with the rare pictures as pros but listed the fact that it is a collection of already published articles as a con. Sportskeeda.com gave a mixed review, saying that the book understated the role of Dravid in ODIs - in general and as a wicketkeeper. Also, his role as a mentor is not reflected. It concludes by saying \"the book is not definitive; it is not supposed to be.\"\n\nReferences\n\n2012 non-fiction books\nCricket books"
]
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[
"\\Weird Al\\\" Yankovic\"",
"Personal life"
]
| C_55ecd6dee3b149a0871c31752b23afa8_1 | What is interesting about Yankovic's personal life? | 1 | What is interesting about Yankovic's personal life? | \Weird Al\" Yankovic" | Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America and he felt "it made ... a very compelling argument for a strict vegetarian diet". When asked how he can "rationalize" performing at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off when he is a vegan, he replied, "The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I'm not a student anymore." In a 2011 interview with news website OnMilwaukee, Yankovic clarified his stance on his diet, saying, "I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece." Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001 after being introduced by their mutual friend Bill Mumy. Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. Yankovic identifies as Christian and has stated that a couple from his church appeared on the cover of Poodle Hat. Yankovic's religious background is reflected in his abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and profanity. He and his family currently live in Los Angeles in a house previously owned at separate times by Jack S. Margolis and Heavy D. On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Several hours after his wife notified him of his parents' death, Yankovic went on with his concert in Appleton, Wisconsin, saying that "since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well" and that it would "at least ... give me a break from sobbing all the time." Their deaths occurred following the release of Poodle Hat, which was Yankovic's lowest-selling album in 20 years, but he considered continuing the show and tour therapeutic, saying "if I didn't have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go onstage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just OK." In a 2014 interview, Yankovic called his parents' death "the worst thing that ever happened to me." He added, "I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I'd have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly." CANNOTANSWER | Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America | false | [
"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is an upcoming biographical comedy film directed by Eric Appel from a screenplay he co-wrote with the film's subject, \"Weird Al\" Yankovic. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic, and is set to be released on The Roku Channel.\n\nCast\n\n Daniel Radcliffe as \"Weird Al\" Yankovic\n\nProduction\nIn 2010, Funny or Die released a fake trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a biographical drama film directed by Eric Appel and starring Aaron Paul as musician \"Weird Al\" Yankovic. Additional co-stars in the 3-minute trailer included Yankovic, Olivia Wilde, Gary Cole, Mary Steenburgen, and Patton Oswalt. On January 18, 2022, a real film of the same name was announced with Daniel Radcliffe set to star in the title role. The film was directed and executive produced by Appel from a screenplay he co-wrote with Yankovic. In a statement, Appel said jokingly, \"When Weird Al first sat me down against my will and told me his life story, I didn't believe any of it, but I knew that we had to make a movie about it.\" Filming began in Los Angeles on February 10, 2022. The film is scheduled to be released on The Roku Channel.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nAmerican films\nAmerican biographical films\nAmerican comedy films\nBiographical films about musicians\nBiographical films about singers\nFilms shot in Los Angeles\nFunny or Die\nUpcoming English-language films",
"\"Lasagna\" is a song by \"Weird Al\" Yankovic. It is a parody of \"La Bamba\", a traditional song popularized by Ritchie Valens and Los Lobos.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Lasagna\" – 2:45\n \"Velvet Elvis\" – 4:27\n\nWriting and release\nWhen Yankovic began writing the song, he claimed:\n\nUnder U.S. law, Yankovic can parody any song as long as he pays royalties to use the original music. However, as a personal rule, he asks for permission in order to maintain good relations with the industry. This song is an exception to that rule. Although it is a parody of the Los Lobos cover version, \"Lasagna\" marked Yankovic's first parody that did not require permission from an artist or a payment of royalties, since \"La Bamba\" is a traditional folk song that is not attributed to any specific writer.\n\nThe single was released exclusively in Japan as a mini 3\" CD single.\n\nMusic video\nThere is no full-length music video for this single, though a shortened music video segment was shown in 1997 as a part of The Weird Al Show.\n\nThe video features a stereotypical Italian family, including an elderly woman, two children, a rather large man for \"Cousin Luigi\" and Yankovic (sans glasses) as the father.\nWhen the line \"A-don't you get any on ya, you sloppy pig\" is sung, the elderly woman at the dinner table drops the lasagna into Luigi's lap.\nAfter \"Have-a more ravioli\" is sung, two children catch ravioli in their mouth.\nNear the end, lasagna is falling out of Luigi's mouth.\nThe elderly woman and one of the children fight over the lasagna near the end.\nAt the end, the family does a dance. First they simply wave from side to side with their hands on each other's shoulders while still seated. Then, they stand up from their chairs, which move off-screen, as does the table. Yankovic takes his plate of lasagna off the table. They all do a can can-type dance as confetti and balloons fall from the ceiling, and at the cheering section at the end, the others gather around Yankovic as he holds out his plate proudly.\n\nItalian dishes mentioned in \"Lasagna\"\nYankovic names many Italian dishes in \"Lasagna\", including:\n\nLasagna\nSpaghetti\nCalzone\nMinestrone\nMarinara\nLinguini\nFettuccine\nRavioli\n\nIn popular culture\n\"Lasagna\" is heard playing on a radio in a cave scene in the 2010 film Yogi Bear.\n\nIn the second-season episode of NBC's drama This Is Us entitled \"The Car\", the Pearson family sings the song to calm mom Rebecca's (Mandy Moore) nerves as they cross a bridge on the way to a Yankovic concert.\n\nSee also\n List of singles by \"Weird Al\" Yankovic\n List of songs by \"Weird Al\" Yankovic\n\nReferences\n\n\"Weird Al\" Yankovic songs\n1988 singles\nSongs with lyrics by \"Weird Al\" Yankovic\n1988 songs\nSongs about food\nScotti Brothers Records singles",
"The Compleat Al is a mockumentary about the life of \"Weird Al\" Yankovic, from his birth in 1959, to 1985. It was partially written by Yankovic and directed by Jay Levey. An abbreviated version premiered on August 7, 1985 on the Showtime network before the full film was released on video on September 25, 1985. The title of the film is a parody from the 1982 documentary The Compleat Beatles.\n\nAlthough it is a mockumentary, it is roughly based on Yankovic's real life. For example, Yankovic was raised in Lynwood, California, and has a degree in architecture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. His real-life parents appear in the mockumentary, as does a picture of his real-life childhood house. Because of the mixture of Yankovic's real life and fiction, many of the film's fabricated information was accepted by fans as real. For example, the false information that Yankovic was born in a Saint Vitus hospital (the Catholic patron saint of comedy); or the film's pun which claimed his birth in an elevator signified his \"rise to the top.\"\n\nThe mockumentary also contains clips from the first three AL-TV specials, and all of Yankovic's music videos up to 1985: \"Ricky\", \"I Love Rocky Road\", \"Eat It\", \"I Lost on Jeopardy\", \"This Is the Life\", \"Like a Surgeon\", \"One More Minute\", and \"Dare to Be Stupid\".\n\nThe parody also extends to the technical aspects of the film, such as the copyright warning message which starts routinely but escalates to warnings that copying the video may result in damage to your VCR, smoke may come out of your TV set, escalating to possible destruction of the planet due to the greed of the viewer.\n\nProduction\nThe film came about when CBS Home Video approached Yankovic to make a long form music video. It was produced by Yankovic's manager Jay Levey, Levey's friend Hamilton Cloud, and Robert K. Weiss, who had previously produced Kentucky Fried Movie and The Blues Brothers. The production, which had a budget of $250,000, also included making videos for \"Like a Surgeon\", \"Dare to Be Stupid\", and \"One More Minute\", which were included in the film. The film, including the music videos, was directed by Levey and Weiss.\n\nRelease\nThe film first premiered on August 7, 1985 on the premium cable channel Showtime, which aired a 60-minute version of the film. The full film was then released on VHS and Betamax on September 25, 1985. The film was later released on Laserdisc in 1986. A 10-minute version of the mockumentary appeared on the sixth AL-TV special, which aired on MTV in 1992.\n\nA book entitled The Authorized Al () was released shortly after the film as a companion piece. It is essentially a book version of the video.\n\nShout! Factory released The Compleat Al on DVD for the first time on November 11, 2014.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nAmerican mockumentary films\n1985 television films\n1985 films\n1980s musical comedy films\nFilms with screenplays by \"Weird Al\" Yankovic\nFilms with screenplays by Jay Levey\nFilms directed by Jay Levey\nFilms directed by Robert K. Weiss"
]
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[
"\\Weird Al\\\" Yankovic\"",
"Personal life",
"What is interesting about Yankovic's personal life?",
"Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America"
]
| C_55ecd6dee3b149a0871c31752b23afa8_1 | Did he remain a vegan or change back to nomalr diet later on? | 2 | Did Yankovic remain a vegan or change back to nomalr diet later on? | \Weird Al\" Yankovic" | Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America and he felt "it made ... a very compelling argument for a strict vegetarian diet". When asked how he can "rationalize" performing at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off when he is a vegan, he replied, "The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I'm not a student anymore." In a 2011 interview with news website OnMilwaukee, Yankovic clarified his stance on his diet, saying, "I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece." Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001 after being introduced by their mutual friend Bill Mumy. Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. Yankovic identifies as Christian and has stated that a couple from his church appeared on the cover of Poodle Hat. Yankovic's religious background is reflected in his abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and profanity. He and his family currently live in Los Angeles in a house previously owned at separate times by Jack S. Margolis and Heavy D. On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Several hours after his wife notified him of his parents' death, Yankovic went on with his concert in Appleton, Wisconsin, saying that "since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well" and that it would "at least ... give me a break from sobbing all the time." Their deaths occurred following the release of Poodle Hat, which was Yankovic's lowest-selling album in 20 years, but he considered continuing the show and tour therapeutic, saying "if I didn't have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go onstage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just OK." In a 2014 interview, Yankovic called his parents' death "the worst thing that ever happened to me." He added, "I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I'd have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly." CANNOTANSWER | I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece." | false | [
"Kuntal Joisher is a mountaineer based in Mumbai, India. On 15 May 2018, he stood on top of Mt. Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8516 meters. During the course of the expedition, Joisher only consumed strictly vegan food, and used only vegan gear including a one-piece synthetic suit made completely from animal-free material, as well as mittens and gloves constructed devoid of down or leather.\n\nHe climbed Mount Everest from the south side on a completely plant-based diet. He reached the summit on 19 May 2016. He is also the first mountaineer to have climbed Mt. Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, on a completely plant-based diet. He reached the summit on 1 October 2014.\n\nJoisher first went to Nepal in 1984 as a child and returned to Nepal several times for photography and climbing and says he regards Nepal as his \"second home\". Surviving an almost fatal avalanche during the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, Joisher arranged a photo exhibition after his return and donated income he made from it to relief measures in Nepal. He says regarding his expedition, \"it was important for me to send a message across the world that vegans can do it. I wanted to debunk every single myth around veganism.\"\n\nEarly life\nKuntal was born in India to a Gujarati (Bhanushali) family. He was raised as a vegetarian, and later turned vegan in 2002. He is an alumnus of USC Viterbi, where he did his masters in Computer Science.\n\n2014 Everest attempt \nIn 2014, Joisher survived a failed attempt during which 16 Sherpa climbing guides died in the Khumbu Icefall section. The accident was the largest accident in the Everest climbing history. In October, 2014, Joisher became the first vegan and the second Indian civilian to summit Mount Manaslu at 8163 m, the eighth highest mountain in the world. A few months before his first Everest attempt, Joisher was called a \"fitness star\" in a Times of India article.\n\n2015 Everest attempt \nIn an interview about his 2015 attempt, Joisher declared that his motivation to climb Everest was to disprove the notion that a vegan diet is nutritionally deficient, and wanted to use clothing and equipment not made from animal products. This attempt also saw Joisher reach for crowd funding; he offered to give away his Everest summit ice-axe to anyone who donated over Rs. 100,000. His attempt to be the first vegan to summit from the south side failed due to an avalanche that was caused by the 2015 Nepal earthquake, which resulted in 21 deaths. A video of the incident that featured Joisher went viral on YouTube receiving over 23 million hits. Joisher trekked with his fellow survivors for 3–4 days from EBC to Lukla from where they were transported to Kathmandu by IAF helicopter. They then volunteered to assist relief work for the earthquake hit as they awaited the arrival of their gear. Joisher kneaded dough and cut vegetables for a kitchen that served puri bhaji. Joisher told NDTV \"I'm certain I'll be back again next year\".\n\n2016 Everest successful summit \nJoisher's 45-day Everest expedition culminated in his climbing the summit on 19 May 2016.\n\nSee also \nIndian summiters of Mount Everest - Year wise\nList of Mount Everest summiters by number of times to the summit\nList of Mount Everest records of India\nList of Mount Everest records\n\nReferences \n\nLiving people\nIndian mountain climbers\nIndian summiters of Mount Everest\nSportspeople from Mumbai\nUSC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni\nGujarati people\n1980 births\nPlant-based diet advocates\nVeganism activists",
"Veganism involves following a vegan diet, which is a diet that includes no animal products of any kind. It can extend to ethical veganism which avoids or boycotts all products and activities whose production or undertaking is perceived to exploit animals, such as leather, silk, fur, wool, and cosmetics that have been tested on animals, as well as blood sports such as bullfighting and fox hunting.\n\nAll the people on this list are reportedly practising a vegan diet, or were at the time of their death.\n\nThere is a similar list for vegetarians at List of vegetarians.\n\nList\n\nSee also\n List of vegetarians\n List of fictional vegetarian characters\n List of pescetarians\n\nReferences\n\nVegans\nPeople in veganism\nAnimal rights\nAnimal welfare\nCruelty to animals",
"Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Distinctions may be made between several categories of veganism. Dietary vegans, also known as \"strict vegetarians\", refrain from consuming meat, eggs, dairy products, and any other animal-derived substances. An ethical vegan is someone who not only follows a plant-based diet but extends the philosophy into other areas of their lives, opposes the use of animals for any purpose, and tries to avoid any cruelty and exploitation of all animals including humans. Another term is \"environmental veganism\", which refers to the avoidance of animal products on the premise that the industrial farming of animals is environmentally damaging and unsustainable.\n\nWell-planned vegan diets are regarded as appropriate for all stages of life, including infancy and pregnancy, as said by the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the British Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the New Zealand Ministry of Health. The German Society for Nutritionwhich is a non-profit organisation and not an official health agencydoes not recommend vegan diets for children or adolescents, or during pregnancy and breastfeeding. There is inconsistent evidence for vegan diets providing a protective effect against metabolic syndrome, but some evidence suggests that a vegan diet can help with weight loss, especially in the short term. Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and phytochemicals, and lower in dietary energy, saturated fat, cholesterol, omega-3 fatty acid, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12. A poorly-planned vegan diet may lead to nutritional deficiencies that nullify any beneficial effects and may cause serious health issues, some of which can only be prevented with fortified foods or dietary supplements. Vitamin B12 supplementation is important because its deficiency can cause blood disorders and potentially irreversible neurological damage; this danger is also one of the most common in poorly-planned non-vegan diets.\n\nThe word 'vegan' was coined by Donald Watson and his then-future wife Dorothy Morgan in 1944. It was derived from 'Allvega' and 'Allvegan' which had been used and suggested beforehand by original members and future officers of the society George A. Henderson and his wife Fay, the latter of whom wrote the first vegan recipe book. At first, they used it to mean \"non-dairy vegetarian\", however, by May 1945, vegans explicitly abstained from \"eggs, honey; and animals' milk, butter and cheese\". From 1951, the Society defined it as \"the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals\".\n\nInterest in veganism increased significantly in the 2010s.\n\nOrigins\n\nVegetarian etymology\nThe term \"vegetarian\" has been in use since around 1839 to refer to what was previously described as a vegetable regimen or diet. Its origin is an irregular compound of vegetable and the suffix -arian (in the sense of \"supporter, believer\" as in humanitarian). The earliest known written use is attributed to actress, writer and abolitionist Fanny Kemble, in her Journal of a Residence on a Georgian plantation in 1838–1839.\n\nHistory\n\nVegetarianism can be traced to Indus Valley Civilization in 3300–1300 BCE in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in northern and western ancient India. Early vegetarians included Indian philosophers such as Parshavnatha, Mahavira, Acharya Kundakunda, Umaswati, Samantabhadra, and the Tamil poet Valluvar; the Indian emperors Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka; Greek philosophers such as Empedocles, Theophrastus, Plutarch, Plotinus, and Porphyry; and the Roman poet Ovid and the playwright Seneca the Younger. The Greek sage Pythagoras may have advocated an early form of strict vegetarianism, but his life is so obscure that it is disputed whether he ever advocated any form of vegetarianism at all. He almost certainly prohibited his followers from eating beans and from wearing woolen garments. Eudoxus of Cnidus, a student of Archytas and Plato, writes that \"Pythagoras was distinguished by such purity and so avoided killing and killers that he not only abstained from animal foods, but even kept his distance from cooks and hunters\". One of the earliest known vegans was the Arab poet al-Maʿarri (). Their arguments were based on health, the transmigration of souls, animal welfare, and the view—espoused by Porphyry in (\"On Abstinence from Animal Food\", )—that if humans deserve justice, then so do animals.\n\nVegetarianism established itself as a significant movement in 19th-century Britain and the United States. A minority of vegetarians avoided animal food entirely. In 1813, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley published A Vindication of Natural Diet, advocating \"abstinence from animal food and spirituous liquors\", and in 1815, William Lambe, a London physician, stated that his \"water and vegetable diet\" could cure anything from tuberculosis to acne. Lambe called animal food a \"habitual irritation\", and argued that \"milk eating and flesh-eating are but branches of a common system and they must stand or fall together\". Sylvester Graham's meatless Graham diet—mostly fruit, vegetables, water, and bread made at home with stoneground flour—became popular as a health remedy in the 1830s in the United States. Several vegan communities were established around this time. In Massachusetts, Amos Bronson Alcott, father of the novelist Louisa May Alcott, opened the Temple School in 1834 and Fruitlands in 1844, and in England, James Pierrepont Greaves founded the Concordium, a vegan community at Alcott House on Ham Common, in 1838.\n\nVegetarian Society\n\nIn 1843, members of Alcott House created the British and Foreign Society for the Promotion of Humanity and Abstinence from Animal Food, led by Sophia Chichester, a wealthy benefactor of Alcott House. Alcott House also helped to establish the UK Vegetarian Society, which held its first meeting in 1847 in Ramsgate, Kent. The Medical Times and Gazette in London reported in 1884:\n\nThere are two kinds of Vegetarians—one an extreme form, the members of which eat no animal food products what-so-ever; and a less extreme sect, who do not object to eggs, milk, or fish. The Vegetarian Society ... belongs to the latter more moderate division.\n\nAn article in the Society's magazine, the Vegetarian Messenger, in 1851 discussed alternatives to shoe leather, which suggests the presence of vegans within the membership who rejected animal use entirely, not only in diet. By the 1886 publication of Henry S. Salt's A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays, he asserts that, \"It is quite true that most—not all—Food Reformers admit into their diet such animal food as milk, butter, cheese, and eggs...\" Russell Thacher Trall's The Hygeian Home Cook-Book published in 1874 is the first known vegan cookbook in America. The book contains recipes \"without the employment of milk, sugar, salt, yeast, acids, alkalies, grease, or condiments of any kind.\" An early vegan cookbook, Rupert H. Wheldon's No Animal Food: Two Essays and 100 Recipes, was published by C. W. Daniel in 1910. The consumption of milk and eggs became a battleground over the following decades. There were regular discussions about it in the Vegetarian Messenger; it appears from the correspondence pages that many opponents of veganism came from vegetarians.\n\nDuring a visit to London in 1931, Mahatma Gandhi—who had joined the Vegetarian Society's executive committee when he lived in London from 1888 to 1891—gave a speech to the Society arguing that it ought to promote a meat-free diet as a matter of morality, not health. Lacto-vegetarians acknowledged the ethical consistency of the vegan position but regarded a vegan diet as impracticable and were concerned that it might be an impediment to spreading vegetarianism if vegans found themselves unable to participate in social circles where no non-animal food was available. This became the predominant view of the Vegetarian Society, which in 1935 stated: \"The lacto-vegetarians, on the whole, do not defend the practice of consuming the dairy products except on the ground of expediency.\"\n\nVegan etymology \n\nIn August 1944, several members of the Vegetarian Society asked that a section of its newsletter be devoted to non-dairy vegetarianism. When the request was turned down, Donald Watson, secretary of the Leicester branch, set up a new quarterly newsletter in November 1944, priced tuppence. He called it The Vegan News. The word vegan was invented by Watson and Dorothy Morgan, a schoolteacher he would later marry. The word is based on \"the first three and last two letters of 'vegetarian because it marked, in Mr Watson's words, \"the beginning and end of vegetarian\". The Vegan News asked its readers if they could think of anything better than vegan to stand for \"non-dairy vegetarian\". They suggested allvega, neo-vegetarian, dairyban, vitan, benevore, sanivores, and beaumangeur.\n\nThe first edition attracted more than 100 letters, including from George Bernard Shaw, who resolved to give up eggs and dairy. The new Vegan Society held its first meeting in early November at the Attic Club, 144 High Holborn, London. Those in attendance were Donald Watson, Elsie B. Shrigley, Fay K. Henderson, Alfred Hy Haffenden, Paul Spencer and Bernard Drake, with Mme Pataleewa (Barbara Moore, a Russian-British engineer) observing. World Vegan Day is held every 1 November to mark the founding of the Society and the month of November is considered by the Society to be World Vegan Month. \n\nThe Vegan News changed its name to The Vegan in November 1945, by which time it had 500 subscribers. It published recipes and a \"vegan trade list\" of animal-free products, such as toothpastes, shoe polishes, stationery and glue. Vegan books appeared, including Vegan Recipes by Fay K. Henderson (1946) and Aids to a Vegan Diet for Children by Kathleen V. Mayo (1948).\n\nThe Vegan Society soon made clear that it rejected the use of animals for any purpose, not only in diet. In 1947, Watson wrote: \"The vegan renounces it as superstitious that human life depends upon the exploitation of these creatures whose feelings are much the same as our own ...\". From 1948, The Vegans front page read: \"Advocating living without exploitation\", and in 1951, the Society published its definition of veganism as \"the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals\". In 1956, its vice-president, Leslie Cross, founded the Plantmilk Society; and in 1965, as Plantmilk Ltd and later Plamil Foods, it began production of one of the first widely distributed soy milks in the Western world.\n\nThe first vegan society in the United States was founded in 1948 by Catherine Nimmo and Rubin Abramowitz in California, who distributed Watson's newsletter. In 1960, H. Jay Dinshah founded the American Vegan Society (AVS), linking veganism to the concept of ahimsa, \"non-harming\" in Sanskrit. According to Joanne Stepaniak, the word vegan was first published independently in 1962 by the Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, defined as \"a vegetarian who eats no butter, eggs, cheese, or milk\".\n\nIncreasing interest\n\nAlternative food movements\nIn the 1960s and 1970s, a vegetarian food movement emerged as part of the counterculture in the United States that focused on concerns about diet, the environment, and a distrust of food producers, leading to increasing interest in organic gardening. One of the most influential vegetarian books of that time was Frances Moore Lappé's 1971 text, Diet for a Small Planet. It sold more than three million copies and suggested \"getting off the top of the food chain\".\n\nThe following decades saw research by a group of scientists and doctors in the United States, including physicians Dean Ornish, Caldwell Esselstyn, Neal D. Barnard, John A. McDougall, Michael Greger, and biochemist T. Colin Campbell, who argued that diets based on animal fat and animal protein, such as the Western pattern diet, were detrimental to health. They produced a series of books that recommend vegan or vegetarian diets, including McDougall's The McDougall Plan (1983), John Robbins's Diet for a New America (1987), which associated meat eating with environmental damage, and Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease (1990). In 2003 two major North American dietitians' associations indicated that well-planned vegan diets were suitable for all life stages. This was followed by the film Earthlings (2005), Campbell's The China Study (2005), Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin's Skinny Bitch (2005), Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals (2009), and the film Forks over Knives (2011).\n\nIn the 1980s, veganism became associated with punk subculture and ideologies, particularly straight edge hardcore punk in the United States; and anarcho-punk in the United Kingdom. This association continues on into the 21st century, as evinced by the prominence of vegan punk events such as Fluff Fest in Europe.\n\nInto the mainstream\n\nThe vegan diet became increasingly mainstream in the 2010s, especially in the latter half. The Economist declared 2019 \"the year of the vegan\". The European Commission was granted the right to adopt an implementing act on food information related to suitability of a food for vegetarians or vegans in article 36 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the council. Chain restaurants began marking vegan items on their menus and supermarkets improved their selection of vegan-processed food.\n\nThe global mock-meat market increased by 18 percent between 2005 and 2010, and in the United States by eight percent between 2012 and 2015, to $553 million a year. The Vegetarian Butcher (), the first known vegetarian butcher shop, selling mock meats, opened in the Netherlands in 2010, while America's first vegan butcher, the Herbivorous Butcher, opened in Minneapolis in 2016. Since 2017, more than 12,500 chain restaurant locations have begun offering Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods products including Carl's Jr. outlets offering Beyond Burgers and Burger King outlets serving Impossible Whoppers. Plant-based meat sales in the U.S grew 37% between 2017 and 2019.\n\nIn 2011, Europe's first vegan supermarkets appeared in Germany: Veganz in Berlin and Vegilicious in Dortmund. In 2013, the Oktoberfest in Munich (traditionally a meat-heavy event) offered vegan dishes for the first time in its 200-year history.\n\nBy 2016, 49% of Americans were drinking plant milk, and 91% still drank dairy milk. In the United Kingdom, the plant milk market increased by 155 percent in two years, from 36 million litres (63 million imperial pints) in 2011 to 92 million (162 million imperial pints) in 2013. There was a 185% increase in new vegan products between 2012 and 2016 in the UK. In 2017, the United States School Nutrition Association found 14% of school districts across the country were serving vegan school meals compared to 11.5% of schools offering vegan lunch in 2016, reflecting a change happening in many parts of the world, including Brazil and England.\n\nIn total, , the largest share of vegan consumers globally currently reside in Asia Pacific with nine percent of people following a vegan diet. In 2017, veganism rose in popularity in Hong Kong and China, particularly among millennials. China's vegan market was estimated to rise by more than 17% between 2015 and 2020, which is expected to be \"the fastest growth rate internationally in that period\". This exceeds the projected growth in the second and third fastest-growing vegan markets internationally in the same period, the United Arab Emirates (10.6%) and Australia (9.6%) respectively.\n\nIn 2018, the book The End of Animal Farming by Jacy Reese Anthis argued that veganism will completely replace animal-based food by 2100. The book was featured in The Guardian, The New Republic, and Forbes, among other newspapers and magazines.\n\nThe growth of schools serving vegan school meals has increased in recent years with the lunches added by Los Angeles, California in 2018, Portland, Maine in 2019, and New York City in 2022.\n\nVeganuary is a UK-based non-profit organization that educates and encourages people around the world to try a vegan diet for the month of January. Veganuary also refers to the month-long challenge itself. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the origin of which is widely agreed to be the consumption of bats, over 100 British celebrities including John Bishop, Ricky Gervais, Jane Goodall, Johnny Marr, Deborah Meaden, and Paul McCartney signed a joint letter alongside various politicians and NGOs calling on people to join the fight against climate change and prevent future pandemics through changing to a plant-based diet, starting with signing up for Veganuary.\n\nIn January 2021, 582,538 people from 209 different countries and territories signed up for Veganuary, breaking the previous year's record of 400,000. That same month, ONA in France became the first vegan restaurant in the country to receive a Michelin star. Throughout the year, a further 79 plant-based restaurants around the world received Michelin stars. At the end of the year, a poll conducted by The Guardian showed that a new high of 36% of the British public were interested in veganism.\n\nPrevalence by country\n\n: Australians topped Google's worldwide searches for the word \"vegan\" between mid-2015 and mid-2016. A Euromonitor International study concluded the market for packaged vegan food in Australia would rise 9.6% per year between 2015 and 2020, making Australia the third-fastest growing vegan market behind China and the United Arab Emirates.\n: Kurier estimated that 0.5 percent of Austrians practised veganism, and in the capital, Vienna, 0.7 percent.\n: A 2016 iVOX online study found that out of 1000 Dutch-speaking residents of Flanders and Brussels of 18 years and over, 0.3 percent were vegan.\n: According to research by IBOPE Inteligência published in April 2018, 14% of Brazilians, or about 30 million people, considered themselves vegetarians, 7 million of them vegans.\n: In 2018, one survey estimated that 2.1 percent of adult Canadians considered themselves as vegans.\n: A government-commissioned survey indicates that , 2% of German residents follow a vegan diet, with higher incidence rates among the younger, the less educated (people who ended their formal education with Hauptschule graduation), and residents of former West Germany.\n: In the 2005–06 National Health Survey, 1.6% of the surveyed population reported never consuming animal products. Veganism was most common in the states of Gujarat (4.9%) and Maharashtra (4.0%).\n: Five percent (approx. 300,000) in Israel said they were vegan in 2014, making it the highest per capita vegan population in the world. A 2015 survey by Globes and Israel's Channel 2 News similarly found 5% of Israelis were vegan. Veganism increased among Israeli Arabs. The Israeli army made special provision for vegan soldiers in 2015, which included providing non-leather boots and wool-free berets. Veganism also simplifies adherence to the Judaic prohibition on combining meat and milk in meals.\n: Between 0.6 and 3 percent of Italians were reported to be vegan .\n: In 2018, the Dutch Society for Veganism () estimated there were more than 100,000 Dutch vegans (0.59 percent), based on their membership growth. In July 2020 the NVV estimated the number of vegans in the Netherlands at 150,000. That is approximately 0.9% of the Dutch population.\n: Followers of the Romanian Orthodox Church keep fast during several periods throughout the ecclesiastical calendar amounting to a majority of the year. In the Romanian Orthodox tradition, devotees abstain from eating any animal products during these times. As a result, vegan foods are abundant in stores and restaurants; however, Romanians may not be familiar with a vegan diet as a full-time lifestyle choice.\n: Four percent said they were vegan in a 2014 Demoskop poll.\n: Market research company DemoSCOPE estimated in 2017 that three percent of the population was vegan.\n: A 2016 Ipsos MORI study commissioned by the Vegan Society, surveying almost 10,000 people aged 15 or over across England, Scotland, and Wales, found that 1.05 percent were vegan; the Vegan Society estimates that 542,000 in the UK follow a vegan diet. According to a 2018 survey by Comparethemarket.com, the number of people who identify as vegans in the United Kingdom has risen to over 3.5 million, which is approximately seven percent of the population, and environmental concerns were a major factor in this development. However, doubt was cast on this inflated figure by the UK-based Vegan Society, who perform their own regular survey: the Vegan Society themselves found in 2018 that there were 600,000 vegans in Great Britain (1.16%), which was seen as a dramatic increase on previous figures. YouGov reported 3% vegans in 2021.\n: Estimates of vegans in the U.S. in past varied from 2% (Gallup, 2012) to 0.5% (Faunalytics, 2014). According to the latter, 70% of those who adopted a vegan diet abandoned it. However, Top Trends in Prepared Foods 2017, a report by GlobalData, estimated that \"6% of US consumers now claim to be vegan, up from just 1% in 2014.\" In 2020, YouGov published results of 2019 research which showed only 2.26% reported being vegan. Nearly 59% of the vegan respondents were female. According to Gallup, black Americans are three times more likely to be vegan and vegetarian than whites as of July 2018 (9% compared to 3%).\n\nAnimal products\n\nGeneral\n\nWhile vegans broadly abstain from animal products, there are many ways in which animal products are used, and different individuals and organizations that identify with the practice of veganism may use some limited animal products based on philosophy, means or other concerns.\nPhilosopher Gary Steiner argues that it is not possible to be entirely vegan, because animal use and products are \"deeply and imperceptibly woven into the fabric of human society\".\n\nAnimal Ingredients A to Z (2004) and Veganissimo A to Z (2013) list which ingredients might be animal-derived. The British Vegan Society's sunflower logo and PETA's bunny logo mean the product is certified vegan, which includes no animal testing. The Leaping Bunny logo signals no animal testing, but it might not be vegan. The Vegan Society criteria for vegan certification are that the product contain no animal products, and that neither the finished item nor its ingredients have been tested on animals by, or on behalf of, the manufacturer or by anyone over whom the manufacturer has control. Its website contains a list of certified products, as does Australia's Choose Cruelty Free (CCF). The British Vegan Society will certify a product only if it is free of animal involvement as far as possible and practical, including animal testing, but \"recognises that it is not always possible to make a choice that avoids the use of animals\", an issue that was highlighted in 2016 when it became known that the UK's newly introduced £5 note contained tallow.\n\nMeat, eggs and dairy\n\nLike vegetarians, vegans do not eat meat (including beef, pork, poultry, fowl, game, animal seafood). The main difference between a vegan and vegetarian diet is that vegans exclude dairy products and eggs. Ethical vegans avoid them on the premise that their production causes animal suffering and premature death.\n\nIn egg production, most male chicks are culled because they do not lay eggs. Egg laying hens also suffer from keel bone fractures due to being bred to produce disproportionately large eggs, with the largest study of its kind showing that 85% of Danish egg laying hens suffer from keel bone fractures.\n\nTo obtain milk from dairy cattle, cows are made pregnant to induce lactation; they are kept lactating for three to seven years, then slaughtered. Female calves can be separated from their mothers within 24 hours of birth, and fed milk replacer to retain the cow's milk for human consumption. Most male calves are slaughtered at birth, sent for veal production, or reared for beef.\n\nClothing\n\nMany clothing products may be made of animal products such as silk, wool (including lambswool, shearling, cashmere, angora, mohair, and a number of other fine wools), fur, feathers, pearls, animal-derived dyes, leather, snakeskin, or other kinds of skin or animal product. While dietary vegans might use animal products in clothing, toiletries, and similar, ethical veganism extends not only to matters of food but also to the wearing or use of animal products, and rejects the commodification of animals altogether. Most leather clothing is made from cow skins. Some vegans regard the purchase of leather, particularly from cows, as financial support for the meat industry. Vegans may wear clothing items and accessories made of non-animal-derived materials such as hemp, linen, cotton, canvas, polyester, artificial leather (pleather), rubber, and vinyl. Leather alternatives can come from materials such as cork, piña (from pineapples), cactus, and mushroom leather. Some vegan clothes, in particular leather alternatives, are made of petroleum-based products, which has triggered criticism because of the environmental damage involved in their production.\n\nToiletries \n\nVegans replace personal care products and household cleaners containing animal products with products that are vegan. Animal ingredients are ubiquitous because they are relatively inexpensive. After animals are slaughtered for meat, the leftovers are put through a rendering process and some of that material, particularly the fat, is used in toiletries.\n\nCommon animal-derived ingredients include: tallow in soap; collagen-derived glycerine, which used as a lubricant and humectant in many haircare products, moisturizers, shaving foams, soaps and toothpastes; lanolin from sheep's wool is often found in lip balm and moisturizers; stearic acid is a common ingredient in face creams, shaving foam and shampoos, (as with glycerine, it can be plant-based, but is usually animal-derived); Lactic acid, an alpha-hydroxy acid derived from animal milk, is used in moisturizers; allantoin— from the comfrey plant or cows' urine —is found in shampoos, moisturizers and toothpaste; and carmine from scale insects, such as the female cochineal, is used in food and cosmetics to produce red and pink shades;\n\nBeauty Without Cruelty, founded as a charity in 1959, was one of the earliest manufacturers and certifiers of animal-free personal care products.\n\nInsect products\n\nVegan groups disagree about insect products. Neither the Vegan Society nor the American Vegan Society considers honey, silk, and other insect products as suitable for vegans. Some vegans believe that exploiting the labor of bees and harvesting their energy source is immoral, and that commercial beekeeping operations can harm and even kill bees. Insect products can be defined much more widely, as commercial bees are used to pollinate about 100 different food crops.\n\nPet food\n\nDue to the environmental impact of meat-based pet food and the ethical problems it poses for vegans, some vegans extend their philosophy to include the diets of pets. This is particularly true for domesticated cats and dogs, for which vegan pet food is both available and nutritionally complete, such as Vegepet. This practice has been met with caution and criticism, especially regarding vegan cat diets because felids are obligate carnivores. Nutritionally complete vegan pet diets are comparable to meat-based ones for cats and dogs. A 2015 study found that 6 out of 24 commercial vegan pet food brands do not meet the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) labeling regulations for amino acid adequacy.\n\nOther products and farming practices\n\nA concern is the case of medications, which are routinely tested on animals to ensure they are effective and safe, and may also contain animal ingredients, such as lactose, gelatine, or stearates. There may be no alternatives to prescribed medication or these alternatives may be unsuitable, less effective, or have more adverse side effects. Experimentation with laboratory animals is also used for evaluating the safety of vaccines, food additives, cosmetics, household products, workplace chemicals, and many other substances. Vegans may avoid certain vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, which is commonly produced in chicken eggs. An effective alternative, Flublok, is widely available in the United States.\n\nFarming of fruits and vegetables may include fertilizing the soil with animal manure even on organic farms, possibly causing a concern to vegans for ethical or environmental reasons. \"Vegan\" (or \"animal-free\") farming uses plant compost only.\n\nVegan diets, substitutions, and meat analogues\n\nVegan diets are based on grains and other seeds, legumes (particularly beans), fruits, vegetables, edible mushrooms, and nuts.\n\nMeat substitutes\nVegan meat alternatives are commonly sold in the form of vegetarian sausage, mince, and veggie burgers. They are often made from soybeans, seitan (wheat gluten), beans, lentils, rice, mushrooms or vegetables. Meat substitutes have been made in China since at least the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 common era), including mock duck made from seitan. They are much newer to Western countries. Some famous Western producers of vegan meat alternatives include Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. However, in the late 2010s many meat producers and supermarkets also started making their own brands of vegan meat substitutes.\n\nPlant milk and dairy product alternatives\nPlant milks—such as soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, grain milks (oat milk, flax milk and rice milk), hemp milk, and coconut milk—are used in place of cows' or goats' milk. Soy milk provides around 7 g (¼oz) of protein per cup (240 mL or 8 fl oz), compared with 8 g (2/7oz) of protein per cup of cow's milk. Almond milk is lower in dietary energy, carbohydrates, and protein. Soy milk should not be used as a replacement for breast milk for babies. Babies who are not breastfed may be fed commercial infant formula, normally based on cows' milk or soy. The latter is known as soy-based infant formula or SBIF.\n\nButter and margarine can be replaced with alternate vegan products. Vegan cheeses are made from seeds, such as sesame and sunflower; nuts, such as cashew, pine nut, and almond; and soybeans, coconut oil, nutritional yeast, tapioca, and rice, among other ingredients; and can replicate the meltability of dairy cheese. Nutritional yeast is a common substitute for the taste of cheese in vegan recipes. Cheese substitutes can be made at home, including from nuts, such as cashews. Yoghurt and cream products can be replaced with plant-based products such as soy yoghurt.\n\nVarious types of plant cream have been created to replace dairy cream, and some types of imitation whipped cream are non-dairy.\n\nIn the 2010s and 2020s, a number of companies have genetically engineered yeast to produce cow milk proteins, whey, or fat, without the use of cows. These include Perfect Day, Novacca, Motif FoodWorks, Remilk, Final Foods, Imagindairy, Nourish Ingredients, and Circe.\n\nEgg replacements\n\nAs of 2019 in the United States, there were numerous vegan egg substitutes available, including products used for \"scrambled\" eggs, cakes, cookies, and doughnuts. Baking powder, silken (soft) tofu, mashed potato, bananas, flaxseeds, and aquafaba from chickpeas can also be used as egg substitutes. Which one of these works depends on the egg property the replacement is meant to emulate. Scrambled tofu for instance replaces scrambled eggs, but tofu does not act as a binding agent for cakes like raw eggs, flaxseeds or bananas do.\n\nRaw veganism\n\nRaw veganism, combining veganism and raw foodism, excludes all animal products and food cooked above . A raw vegan diet includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain and legume sprouts, seeds, and sea vegetables. There are many variations of the diet, including fruitarianism.\n\nVegan nutrition\n\nHealth effects\n\nThe evidence that a vegan diet confers health benefits is inconsistent. A 2021 review found that plant-based diets can only provide a risk reduction for CVD if a healthy plant-based diet is consumed. Unhealthy plant-based diets do not provide benefits over regular diets including meat. A similar meta-analysis and systematic review also looked into dietary patterns and found \"that diets lower in animal foods and unhealthy plant foods, and higher in healthy plant foods are beneficial for CVD prevention\". A 2018 meta-analysis of observational studies concluded that \"In most countries, a vegan diet is associated with a more favourable cardio-metabolic profile compared to an omnivorous diet.\"\n\nA Cochrane review of 2021 looking only at clinical interventions (randomized controlled trials) found that there is \"currently insufficient information to draw conclusions about the effects of vegan dietary interventions on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.\" Most trials had a duration of less than 6 months.\n\nA 2019 systematic review found \"there is an overall robust support for beneficial effects of a plant-based diet on metabolic measures in health and disease\".\n\nVegans tend to have a lower body mass index than omniovores, and lower levels of serum cholesterol and blood glucose. However, consuming no animal products increases the risk of deficiencies of vitamins B12 and D, calcium, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids and sometimes iodine. Vitamin B12 deficiency occurs in up to 80% of vegans that do not supplement with vitamin B12. Vegans are at risk of low bone mineral density without supplement for the aforementioned nutrients. (see section Critical nutrients)\n\nThere is inconsistent evidence for vegan diets providing a protective effect against metabolic syndrome. Vegan diets appear to help weight loss, especially in the short term. There is some tentative evidence of an association between vegan diets and a reduced risk of cancer. A vegan diet without caloric restriction offers the same benefit in helping with high blood pressure like diets recommended by medical societies and portion-controlled diets. It reduces blood pressure better than a vegetarian diet. A systematic review and meta-analysis from 2020 looking into inflammation markers found that a vegan diet was associated with lower levels of C-reactive protein compared to omnivores. However, for other biomarkers no substantial effects were observed.\n\nA 2021 review looking into the impact of vegan and vegetarian diets on physical performance concludes that \"research has failed to demonstrate consistent differences of performance between diets but a trend towards improved performance after vegetarian and vegan diets for both endurance and strength exercise has been shown\".\n\nPositions of dietetic and government associations\n\nThe Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada state that properly planned vegetarian or vegan diets are appropriate for all life stages, including pregnancy and lactation. The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council similarly recognizes a well-planned vegan diet as viable for any age, as does the British Dietetic Association, British National Health Service and the Canadian Pediatric Society.\n\nThe German Society for Nutrition does not recommend a vegan diet for babies, children and adolescents, or for pregnancy or breastfeeding.\n\nPregnancy, infants and children\n\nThe Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada consider well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets \"appropriate for individuals during all stages of the lifecycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes\". The German Society for Nutrition cautioned against a vegan diet for pregnant women, breastfeeding women, babies, children, and adolescents. The position of the Canadian Pediatric Society is that \"well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets with appropriate attention to specific nutrient components can provide a healthy alternative lifestyle at all stages of fetal, infant, child and adolescent growth. It is recommended that attention should be given to nutrient intake, particularly protein, vitamins B12 and D, essential fatty acids, iron, zinc, and calcium.\n\nNutrients \n\nVegan diets are high in fiber, folic acid, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, and unsaturated fat.\n\nThe American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that special attention may be necessary to ensure that a vegan diet will provide adequate amounts of vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, iron, and zinc. It also states that concern that vegans and vegan athletes may not consume an adequate amount and quality of protein is unsubstantiated.\n\nThese nutrients are available in plant foods, with the exception of vitamin B12, which can be obtained only from B12-fortified vegan foods or supplements. Iodine may also require supplementation, such as using iodized salt. The has developed guidelines for vegan nutrition.\n\nPhilosophy\n\nEthical veganism\n\nEthical veganism, also known as moral vegetarianism, is based on opposition to speciesism, the assignment of value to individuals on the basis of (animal) species membership alone. Divisions within animal rights theory include the utilitarian, protectionist approach, which pursues improved conditions for animals. It also pertains to the rights-based abolitionism, which seeks to end human ownership of non-humans, including as pets. Abolitionists argue that protectionism serves only to make the public feel that animal use can be morally unproblematic (the \"happy meat\" position).\n\nDonald Watson, co-founder of The Vegan Society, stated in response to a question on why he was an ethical vegan, \"If an open-minded, honest person pursues a course long enough, and listens to all the criticisms, and in one's own mind can satisfactorily meet all the criticisms against that idea, sooner or later one's resistance against what one sees as evil tradition has to be discarded.\" On bloodsports, he has said that \"to kill creatures for fun must be the very dregs,\" and that vivisection and animal experimentation \"is probably the cruelest of all Man's attack on the rest of Creation.\" He has also stated that \"vegetarianism, whilst being a necessary stepping-stone, between meat eating and veganism, is only a stepping stone.\"\n\nAlex Hershaft, co-founder of the Farm Animal Rights Movement and Holocaust survivor, states he \"was always bothered by the idea of hitting a beautiful, living, innocent animal over the head, cutting him up into pieces, then shoving the pieces into [his] mouth,\" and that his experiences in the Nazi Holocaust allowed him \"to empathize with the conditions of animals in factory farms, auction yards, and slaughterhouses\" because he \"knows firsthand what it's like to be treated like a worthless object.\" Several animal rights activists including Isaac Bashevis Singer, Gary Yourofsky and Karen Davis have compared the cruel treatment of animals in CAFOs and abattoirs to the Nazi Holocaust.\n\nLaw professor Gary Francione, an abolitionist, argues that all sentient beings should have the right not to be treated as property, and that adopting veganism must be the baseline for anyone who believes that non-humans have intrinsic moral value. Philosopher Tom Regan, also a rights theorist, argues that animals possess value as \"subjects-of-a-life\", because they have beliefs, desires, memory and the ability to initiate action in pursuit of goals. The right of subjects-of-a-life not to be harmed can be overridden by other moral principles, but Regan argues that pleasure, convenience and the economic interests of farmers are not weighty enough. Philosopher Peter Singer, a protectionist and utilitarian, argues that there is no moral or logical justification for failing to count animal suffering as a consequence when making decisions, and that killing animals should be rejected unless necessary for survival. Despite this, he writes that \"ethical thinking can be sensitive to circumstances\", and that he is \"not too concerned about trivial infractions\".\n\nAn argument proposed by Bruce Friedrich, also a protectionist, holds that strict adherence to veganism harms animals, because it focuses on personal purity, rather than encouraging people to give up whatever animal products they can. For Francione, this is similar to arguing that, because human-rights abuses can never be eliminated, we should not defend human rights in situations we control. By failing to ask a server whether something contains animal products, we reinforce that the moral rights of animals are a matter of convenience, he argues. He concludes from this that the protectionist position fails on its own consequentialist terms.\n\nPhilosopher Val Plumwood maintained that ethical veganism is \"subtly human-centred\", an example of what she called \"human/nature dualism\" because it views humanity as separate from the rest of nature. Ethical vegans want to admit non-humans into the category that deserves special protection, rather than recognize the \"ecological embeddedness\" of all. Plumwood wrote that animal food may be an \"unnecessary evil\" from the perspective of the consumer who \"draws on the whole planet for nutritional needs\"—and she strongly opposed factory farming—but for anyone relying on a much smaller ecosystem, it is very difficult or impossible to be vegan.\n\nBioethicist Ben Mepham, in his review of Francione and Garner's book The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation?, concludes that \"if the aim of ethics is to choose the right, or best, course of action in specific circumstances 'all things considered', it is arguable that adherence to such an absolutist agenda is simplistic and open to serious self-contradictions. Or, as Farlie puts it, with characteristic panache: 'to conclude that veganism is the \"only ethical response\" is to take a big leap into a very muddy pond'.\" He cites as examples the adverse effects on animal wildlife derived from the agricultural practices necessary to sustain most vegan diets and the ethical contradiction of favoring the welfare of domesticated animals but not that of wild animals; the imbalance between the resources that are used to promote the welfare of animals as opposed to those destined to alleviate the suffering of the approximately one billion human beings who undergo malnutrition, abuse, and exploitation; the focus on attitudes and conditions in western developed countries, leaving out the rights and interests of societies whose economy, culture and, in some cases, survival rely on a symbiotic relationship with animals.\n\nDavid Pearce, a transhumanist philosopher, has argued that humanity has a \"hedonistic imperative\" to not merely avoid cruelty to animals or abolish the ownership of non-human animals, but also to redesign the global ecosystem such that wild animal suffering ceases to exist. In the pursuit of abolishing suffering itself, Pearce promotes predation elimination among animals and the \"cross-species global analogue of the welfare state\". Fertility regulation could maintain herbivore populations at sustainable levels, \"a more civilised and compassionate policy option than famine, predation, and disease\". The increasing number of vegans and vegetarians in the transhumanism movement has been attributed in part to Pearce's influence.\n\nA growing political philosophy that incorporates veganism as part of its revolutionary praxis is veganarchism, which seeks \"total abolition\" or \"total liberation\" for all animals, including humans. Veganarchists identify the state as unnecessary and harmful to animals, both human and non-human, and advocate for the adoption of a vegan lifestyle within a stateless society. The term was popularized in 1995 with Brian A. Dominick's pamphlet Animal Liberation and Social Revolution, described as \"a vegan perspective on anarchism or an anarchist perspective on veganism\".\n\nDirect action is a common practice among veganarchists (and anarchists generally) with groups like the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), the Animal Rights Militia (ARM), the Justice Department (JD) and Revolutionary Cells – Animal Liberation Brigade (RCALB) often engaging in such activities, sometimes criminally, to further their goals. Steven Best, animal rights activist and professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso, is an advocate of this approach, and has been critical of vegan activists like Francione for supporting animal liberation, but not total liberation, which would include not only opposition to \"the property status of animals\", but also \"a serious critique of capitalism, the state, property relations, and commodification dynamics in general.\" In particular, he criticizes the focus on the simplistic and apolitical \"Go Vegan\" message directed mainly at wealthy Western audiences, while ignoring people of color, the working class and the poor, especially in the developing world, noting that \"for every person who becomes vegan, a thousand flesh eaters arise in China, India and Indonesia.\" The \"faith in the singular efficacy of conjectural education and moral persuasion,\" Best writes, is no substitute for \"direct action, mass confrontation, civil disobedience, alliance politics, and struggle for radical change.\" Donald Watson has stated that he \"respects the people enormously who do it, believing that it's the most direct and quick way to achieve their ends.\" Sociologist David Nibert of Wittenberg University posits that any movement towards global justice would necessitate not only the abolition of animal exploitation, particularly as a food source for humans, but also transitioning towards a socioeconomic alternative to the capitalist system, both of which dovetail into what he refers to as the animal–industrial complex.\n\nSome vegans also embrace the philosophy of anti-natalism, as they see the two as complementary in terms of \"harm reduction\" to animals and the environment.\n\nVegan social psychologist Melanie Joy described the ideology in which people support the use and consumption of animal products as carnism, as a sort of opposite to veganism.\n\nExploitation concerns\n\nThe Vegan Society has written, \"by extension, [veganism] promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans.\" Many ethical vegans and vegan organizations cite the poor working conditions of slaughterhouse workers as a reason to reject animal products. The first vegan activist, Donald Watson, has stated, \"If these butchers and vivisectors weren't there, could we perform the acts that they are doing? And, if we couldn't, we have no right to expect them to do it on our behalf. Full stop! That simply compounds the issue. It means that we're not just exploiting animals; we're exploiting human beings.\"\n\nEnvironmental veganism\n\nEnvironmental vegans focus on conservation, rejecting the use of animal products on the premise that fishing, hunting, trapping and farming, particularly factory farming, are environmentally unsustainable.\n\nAccording to a 2006 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report, Livestock's Long Shadow, around 26% of the planet's terrestrial surface is devoted to livestock grazing. The UN report also concluded that livestock farming (mostly of cows, chickens and pigs) affects the air, land, soil, water, biodiversity and climate change. Livestock consumed 1,174 million tonnes of food in 2002—including 7.6 million tonnes of fishmeal and 670 million tonnes of cereals, one-third of the global cereal harvest. Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society called pigs and chicken \"major aquatic predators\", because livestock eat 40 percent of the fish that are caught.\n\nA 2010 UN report, Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production, argued that animal products \"in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives\". It proposed a move away from animal products to reduce environmental damage.\nA 2015 study determined that significant biodiversity loss can be attributed to the growing demand for meat, which is a significant driver of deforestation and habitat destruction, with species-rich habitats being converted to agriculture for livestock production. A 2017 study by the World Wildlife Fund found that 60% of biodiversity loss can be attributed to the vast scale of feed crop cultivation needed to rear tens of billions of farm animals, which puts an enormous strain on natural resources resulting in an extensive loss of lands and species. In November 2017, 15,364 world scientists signed a warning to humanity calling for, among other things, \"promoting dietary shifts towards mostly plant-based foods\".\n\nA 2018 study found that global adoption of plant-based diets would reduce agricultural land use by 76% (3.1 billion hectares, an area the size of Africa) and cut total global greenhouse gas emissions by 28%. Half of this emissions reduction came from avoided emissions from animal production including methane and nitrous oxide, and half came from trees re-growing on abandoned farmland which remove carbon dioxide from the air. The authors conclude that avoiding meat and diary is the \"single biggest way\" to reduce one's impact on Earth.\n\nThe 2019 IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that industrial agriculture and overfishing are the primary drivers of the extinction crisis, with the meat and dairy industries having a substantial impact. On 8 August 2019, the IPCC released a summary of the 2019 special report which asserted that a shift towards plant-based diets would help to mitigate and adapt to climate change.\n\nA 2022 study found that for high-income nations alone 100 billion tons of carbon dioxide could be removed from the air by the end of the century through a shift to plant-based diets and re-wilding of farmland. The researchers coined the term double climate dividend to describe the effect that re-wilding after a diet shift can have. However, the researchers note that \"We don't have to be purist about this, even just cutting animal intake would be helpful. If half of the public in richer regions cut half the animal products in their diets, you're still talking about a massive opportunity in environmental outcomes and public health\".\n\nFeminist veganism\n\nPioneers\nOne of the leading activists and scholars of feminist animal rights is Carol J. Adams. Her premier work, The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory (1990), noted the relationship between feminism and meat consumption. Since the release of The Sexual Politics of Meat, Adams has published several other works, including essays, books, and keynote addresses. In one of her speeches, \"Why feminist-vegan now?\"—adapted from her original address at the \"Minding Animals\" conference in Newcastle, Australia (2009)—Adams stated that \"the idea that there was a connection between feminism and vegetarianism came to [her] in October 1974\", illustrating that the concept of feminist veganism has been around for nearly half a century. Other authors have echoed Adams' ideas while also expanding on them. Feminist scholar Angella Duvnjak stated in \"Joining the Dots: Some Reflections on Feminist-Vegan Political Practice and Choice\" that she was met with opposition when she pointed out the connection between feminist and vegan ideals, even though the connection seemed more than obvious to her and other scholars (2011).\n\nAnimal and human abuse parallels\nOne of the central concepts that animates feminist veganism is the idea that there is a connection between the oppression of women and the oppression of animals. For example, Marjorie Spiegal compared the consumption or servitude of animals for human gain to slavery. This connection is further mirrored by feminist vegan writers like Carrie Hamilton, who pointed out that violent \"rapists sometimes exhibit behavior that seems to be patterned on the mutilation of animals\" suggesting there is a parallel between the violence of rape and animal cruelty.\n\nCapitalism and feminist veganism\nFeminist veganism also relates to feminist thought through the common critique of the capitalist means of production. In an interview with Carol J. Adams, she highlighted \"meat eating as the ultimate capitalist product, because it takes so much to make the product, it uses up so many resources\". This extensive use of resources for meat production is discouraged in favor of using that productive capacity for other food products that have a less detrimental impact on the environment.\n\nReligious veganism\nStreams within a number of religious traditions encourage veganism, sometimes on ethical or environmental grounds. Scholars have especially noted the growth in the twenty-first century of Jewish veganism and Jain veganism. Some interpretations of Christian vegetarianism, Hindu vegetarianism, and Buddhist vegetarianism also recommend or mandate a vegan diet.\n\nDonald Watson argued, \"If Jesus were alive today, he'd be an itinerant vegan propagandist instead of an itinerant preacher of those days, spreading the message of compassion, which, as I see it, is the only useful part of what religion has to offer and, sad as it seems, I doubt if we have to enroll our priest as a member of the Vegan Society.\"\n\nBlack veganism \n\nIn the US, Black veganism is a social and political philosophy as well as a diet. It connects the use of non-human animals with other social justice concerns such as racism, and with the lasting effects of slavery, such as the subsistence diets of enslaved people enduring as familial and cultural food traditions. Dietary changes caused by the Great Migration also meant former farmers, who had previously been able to grow or forage their own vegetables, became reliant on processed foods.\n\nAccording to AshEL Eldridge, an Oakland activist, the movement is about the Black community reclaiming its food sovereignty and \"decolonizing\" the diet of Black Americans. According to Shah, the area where most vegans of color feel the greatest rift with mainstream veganism is in mainstream veganism's failure to recognize the intersectionality with other social justice issues such as food access.\n\nPETA columnist Zachary Tolivar noted he had often heard Black veganism called \"a revolutionary act\" because it often involves rejecting both family tradition and systemic oppression. Amirah Mercer described it as \"revoking my own Black card\" and said that for US Blacks, choosing veganism was an act of protest against disenfranchisement by governmental health care and food policy.\n\nPolitics and activism \n\nIn 2021, vegan climate activist Greta Thunberg called for more vegan food production and consumption worldwide. Parties like Tierschutzpartei in Germany and PACMA in Spain have pro-vegan agendas. They cooperate via Animal Politics EU. In the European Union, meat producers and vegans argue whether vegan food products should be allowed to use labels like \"sausages\" or \"burgers\" for vegan food. The EU currently bans labeling with dairy-related words like \"almond milk\", a rule instated in 2017. , six countries in Europe apply higher value-added tax (VAT) rates to vegan plant milk than to cows' milk, which pro-vegan activists have called discrimination.\n\nDemographics \nIn the United States, vegans (making up 2% of the population) tend to be middle-class, white, female-identified, educated, agnostic or atheist, and urban-dwelling.\n\nIn the below chart, polls with larger sample sizes are preferred over those with smaller sample size.\n\nPrejudice against vegans\n\nVegan rights \nIn some countries, vegans have some rights to meals and legal protections against discrimination.\n\n The German police sometimes provides on-duty staff with food. After not being provided a vegan option in this context, a vegan employee has been granted an additional food allowance.\nIn Portugal, starting in 2017, public administration canteens and cafeterias such as schools, prisons and social services must offer at least one vegan option at every meal.\nIn Ontario, a province of Canada, there were reports that ethical veganism became protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code, following a 2015 update to legal guidance by the Ontario Human Rights Commission. However, said body later issued a statement that this question is for a judge or tribunal to decide on a case-by-case basis.\n In the United Kingdom, an employment tribunal ruled in 2020 that the Equality Act 2010 protects \"ethical veganism\", a belief it defined as veganism that extends beyond diet to all areas of life and is motivated by a concern for animals.\n\nSymbols\n\nMultiple symbols have been developed to represent veganism. Several are used on consumer packaging, including the Vegan Society trademark and the Vegan Action logo, to indicate products without animal-derived ingredients. Various symbols may also be used by members of the vegan community to represent their identity and in the course of animal rights activism, such as a vegan flag.\n\nEconomics of veganism\n\nThe 2014 documentary film Cowspiracy estimates that a vegan, over the course of one year, will save 1.5 million litres of water, 6,607 kg of grain, 1,022 square metres of forest cover, 3,322 kg of , and 365 animal lives compared to the average U.S. diet. According to a 2016 study, if everyone in the U.S. switched to a vegan diet, the country would save $208.2 billion in direct health-care savings, $40.5 billion in indirect health-care savings, $40.5 billion in environmental savings, and $289.1 billion in total savings by 2050. The study also found that if everybody in the world switched to a vegan diet, the global economy would save $684.4 billion in direct health-care savings, $382.6 billion in indirect health-care savings, $569.5 billion in environmental savings, and $1.63 trillion in total savings by 2050.\n\nIn his 2015 book Doing Good Better, William MacAskill stated the following (citing numbers from a 2011 book, Compassion by the pound):\n\nSee also\n\n Animal-free agriculture\n Organic animal-free agriculture\n Animal rights\n Buddhist cuisine\n Healthy diet\n List of diets\n List of vegan media\n Raw veganism\n Vegan nutrition\n Vegan school meal\n Vegan studies\n Veganuary\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n The Vegan Society\n\nBibliography \n\n Williams, Howard. The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh Eating. Czechia, Good Press, 2019.\n\n \n1944 introductions\nApplied ethics\nVegetarian diets\nEthical theories\nIntentional living\nLifestyles\nSustainable food system\nEthical schools and movements"
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[
"\\Weird Al\\\" Yankovic\"",
"Personal life",
"What is interesting about Yankovic's personal life?",
"Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America",
"Did he remain a vegan or change back to nomalr diet later on?",
"I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece.\""
]
| C_55ecd6dee3b149a0871c31752b23afa8_1 | Did he ever get married? | 3 | Did Yankovic ever get married? | \Weird Al\" Yankovic" | Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America and he felt "it made ... a very compelling argument for a strict vegetarian diet". When asked how he can "rationalize" performing at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off when he is a vegan, he replied, "The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I'm not a student anymore." In a 2011 interview with news website OnMilwaukee, Yankovic clarified his stance on his diet, saying, "I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece." Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001 after being introduced by their mutual friend Bill Mumy. Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. Yankovic identifies as Christian and has stated that a couple from his church appeared on the cover of Poodle Hat. Yankovic's religious background is reflected in his abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and profanity. He and his family currently live in Los Angeles in a house previously owned at separate times by Jack S. Margolis and Heavy D. On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Several hours after his wife notified him of his parents' death, Yankovic went on with his concert in Appleton, Wisconsin, saying that "since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well" and that it would "at least ... give me a break from sobbing all the time." Their deaths occurred following the release of Poodle Hat, which was Yankovic's lowest-selling album in 20 years, but he considered continuing the show and tour therapeutic, saying "if I didn't have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go onstage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just OK." In a 2014 interview, Yankovic called his parents' death "the worst thing that ever happened to me." He added, "I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I'd have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly." CANNOTANSWER | Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001 | false | [
"is the Japanese designer who created Hello Kitty.\n\nShe was born in Japan. After graduating from Musashino Art University, she created Hello Kitty at Sanrio in 1974. She left Sanrio in 1976 to get married and has been working as a freelance designer ever since. She did not make a lot of money from Hello Kitty.\n\nThe other characters she has created include Angel Cat Sugar and Rebecca Bonbon. She has also published some picture books.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nThe Official Hello Kitty Website\nThe Official Rebecca Bonbon Website\nThe Official Angel Cat Sugar Website\n\n1946 births\nLiving people\nHello Kitty\nArtists from Chiba Prefecture\nJapanese designers",
"Yuri Ponomaryov (; 24 March 1932 – 13 April 2005) was a Russian cosmonaut.\n\nHe married fellow cosmonaut Valentina Ponomaryova in 1972 and the couple had two children before divorcing. As with Valentina, Yuri did not get to fly into space although he did serve on the Soyuz 18 backup crew.\n\nReferences\n\n1932 births\n2005 deaths\nRussian cosmonauts\nSoviet cosmonauts",
"I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall is the 28th studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard, released in 1978. It reached Number 17 on the Country album chart.\n\nBackground\nIn the span of two years, Haggard switched record labels, divorced Bonnie Owens, married backup singer Leona Williams, and moved to Nashville to record with Jimmy Bowen. In the CMT episode of Inside Fame dedicated to Haggard, Owens speculates that Haggard preferred climbing the ladder of success more than being at the top \"'cause he did seem like he did everything he could to fall down again so he could climb back up.\" I'm Always On A Mountain When I Fall was released in June 1978 and performed a career worst chart wise (Capitol's 1977 collection, A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today, had only reached number 28 but had been released after Haggard had left the label), but the album did produce two hits: both the title track and \"It's Been A Great Afternoon\" reached number 2.\n\nReception\n\nAllMusic deems the album \"well worth owning.\"\n\nTrack listing \n\"I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall\" (Chuck Howard) – 2:48\n\"It's Been a Great Afternoon\" (Merle Haggard) – 2:50\n\"Love Me When You Can\" (Haggard) – 3:18\n\"There Won't Be Another Now\" (Red Lane) – 3:50\n\"Don't You Ever Get Tired (Of Hurtin' Me)\" (Hank Cochran) – 3:22\n\"Life of a Rodeo Cowboy\" (Cochran, Jeannie Seely) – 2:57\n\"There Ain't No Good Chain Gang\" (Hal Bynum, Dave Kirby) – 2:55\n\"Dream\" (Haggard) – 2:01\n\"Immigrant\" (Haggard, Kirby) – 3:05\n\"Mama I've Got to Go to Memphis\" (Leona Williams) – 3:03\n\nChart positions\n\nReferences\n\n1978 albums\nMerle Haggard albums\nMCA Records albums"
]
|
|
[
"\\Weird Al\\\" Yankovic\"",
"Personal life",
"What is interesting about Yankovic's personal life?",
"Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America",
"Did he remain a vegan or change back to nomalr diet later on?",
"I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece.\"",
"Did he ever get married?",
"Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001"
]
| C_55ecd6dee3b149a0871c31752b23afa8_1 | Did he have any kids with her? | 4 | Did Yankovichave any kids with Suzanne Krajewski? | \Weird Al\" Yankovic" | Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America and he felt "it made ... a very compelling argument for a strict vegetarian diet". When asked how he can "rationalize" performing at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off when he is a vegan, he replied, "The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I'm not a student anymore." In a 2011 interview with news website OnMilwaukee, Yankovic clarified his stance on his diet, saying, "I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece." Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001 after being introduced by their mutual friend Bill Mumy. Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. Yankovic identifies as Christian and has stated that a couple from his church appeared on the cover of Poodle Hat. Yankovic's religious background is reflected in his abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and profanity. He and his family currently live in Los Angeles in a house previously owned at separate times by Jack S. Margolis and Heavy D. On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Several hours after his wife notified him of his parents' death, Yankovic went on with his concert in Appleton, Wisconsin, saying that "since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well" and that it would "at least ... give me a break from sobbing all the time." Their deaths occurred following the release of Poodle Hat, which was Yankovic's lowest-selling album in 20 years, but he considered continuing the show and tour therapeutic, saying "if I didn't have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go onstage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just OK." In a 2014 interview, Yankovic called his parents' death "the worst thing that ever happened to me." He added, "I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I'd have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly." CANNOTANSWER | Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. | false | [
"The 2020 Meus Prêmios Nick Awards were held on September 27, 2020, in São Paulo, Brazil. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the event did not have an audience and was broadcast live on television and on Nickelodeon's social media networks simultaneously.\n\nWinners and nominees \nNominees were revealed on July 22, 2020. Singer and actress Manu Gavassi is the most-nominated with six nominations to her name. Maísa Silva is the second most-nominated with 5, and Larissa Manoela and Any Gabrielly each have 4. On August 13, the finalists were announced, in addition to having opened the voting for the 2nd phase with 3 new categories and Manu Gavassi is still the most nominated with now 5 categories.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial website\n\nNickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards\nBrazilian awards\n2020 music awards",
"Kids United was a French singing group between 2015 and 2021 that consisted of six, later five, children born between 2000 and 2009. It was created to support UNICEF campaigns and is sponsored by Hélène Ségara and Corneille , two Francophone singers. The first album Un monde meilleur (A better world) was launched on Universal Children's Day in 2015, it received gold certification in France. The second album Tout le bonheur du monde was certified 2x platinum. It won a Felix Award for best pop album; making it the band's first award.\n\nOn 30 May 2018, it was announced that three of the remaining four members were to leave the group for a solo career, and the one remaining member, Gloria, would continue with other young singers under the name Kids United Nouvelle Génération (Kids United New Generation). In 2020, Kids United Nouvelle Génération joined Green Team : a group of artists who sing to raise awareness of ecological issues.\n\nOriginal members\n\nErza Muqoli\n\nErza was born on in Sarreguemines, Moselle, Lorraine. Her parents are from Kosovo. She has two older sisters and a brother. She was a contestant in La France a un incroyable talent where she notably sang \"Papaoutai\" by Stromae in her first audition, \"Éblouie par la nuit\" by Raphaël Haroche in the semi-final, and \"La Vie en rose\" by Édith Piaf in the final. She finished in 3rd place. She took piano and singing lessons in Sarralbe and her music teacher regularly posted videos of her singing on the Internet. She was 10 when Kids United was formed. She also came out with an original Je Chanterai in 2019\n\nCarla Georges\n\nCarla was born on in Avignon, Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. In 2014, she was a contestant in the first edition of The Voice Kids. She auditioned with the song \"Éblouie par la nuit\" by Raphaël Haroche. With her coach Jenifer, she won the season. On March 3, 2016, she announced on Twitter that she was quitting Kids United for solo projects. She didn't appear in the second album, but she participated in some of the group activities after she left.\n\nEsteban Durand\nEsteban was born on in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France. His family is from Spain. In 2011, he was a contestant in Season 6 of La France a un incroyable talent with his 14-year-old cousin Diego Losada. In 2013, he was a contestant in Season 4 of Italia's Got Talent, with his cousin Diego, and later participated in Belgium's Got Talent. In 2014, he participated in the first edition of The Voice Kids. He has a YouTube channel called \"Esteban y Diego\" with his cousin Diego. They both live in Paris and they both play guitar. He also has a sister named Aitana. He was 15 when Kids United was formed. He announced that he will be quitting the group for a solo career. He was the oldest boy of the original group.\n\nGabriel Gros\nGabriel was born on in Roubaix. He is from England and is part Antillean and Senegalese. He taught other members of the group English songs. He lives in Tourcoing. He was a contestant on the show TeenStar. After, he had to choose between The Voice Kids and Kids United, and chose to join Kids United because he liked the idea of helping children. He was 13 when Kids United was formed. He has since competed on The Voice UK, 2019, where he made it to the knockouts with coach Will.i.am and now lives in London.\n\nNilusi Nissanka\nNilusi was born on in Paris. Her family is from Sri Lanka. She participated in L'École des fans in January 2014 with Tal. She won the game with two jury votes. She started a YouTube channel where she posts covers. She plays a number of instruments, such as the guitar, piano and drums. She was the oldest member of the original Kids United, and was 15 when the group was formed. In November 2017, it was announced she was leaving the group to start a solo career. She has since released numerous songs including Je veux and Au-Delà.\n\nKids United Nouvelle Génération members \nKnown as Kids United Nouvelle Génération, the new members of the formation were:\n\nGloria Palermo de Blasi\nGloria age 14 years old, Born on 27 April 2007 (age 14) Metz, Moselle, Lorraine. In 2014, she was a contestant in the first edition of The Voice Kids. She was teamed with Jennifer and lost to Carla in the semi-finals, past member of Kids United. She was the youngest member of the original Kids United group and was 8 when the group was created. Her mother is also a singer who, in 2017, auditioned in The Voice (French TV series) though unfortunately did not make it past the auditions. Gloria played Emilie in the musical Émilie Jolie and in December 2018 released her new single \"Petit Papa Noël\". On 22 June 2021, she has announced in a story of her Instagram account that the Best of Tour was officially cancelled, supposedly putting an end to the group altogether.\n\nDylan Marina\nDylan was born on 2004 (age 17-18). She was a contestant in Season 4 of The Voice Kids where he made it to the semi-final. He participated in the Kids United and Friends Tour before joining Kids United Nouvelle Generation. he was a part of the album Sardou et nous where he sang \"La Java de Broadway\" and \"En Chantant\" with Lou, Nemo Schifman and Angie Robba. Dylan's favourite singer is Beyoncé.\n\nIlyana Raho-Moussa\nIlyana was born on in Le Havre. She was a contestant in Season 4 of The Voice Kids where she made it to the semi-final. She is a part of the album Sardou et nous... : she sings Je vole with Nemo Schifman.\n\nNathan Laface\nNathan was born on June 6, 2006 (age 15). He is Italian-Swiss and is from the Switzerland city of Neuchâtel.\nHe has dark brown hair, brown eyes, plays soccer and he likes pasta. On July 16 he released his first single \"Par amour\" feat. Minissia released under his new stage name NTH.\nHe doesn't publicly speak about his relationships but he does have a girlfriend.\n\nValentina Tronel\n\nValentina was born on 6 April 2009 (age 12). She was born in Brittany, France. She auditioned for The Voice Kids at the age of 6, with the song Tra te e il mare by Laura Pausini, though none of the judges selected her for their team. She is the youngest member of Kids United Nouvelle Génération. She also participated in The Tremplin 2018, Valentina - Les Meilleures Voix 2018| 5 February 2018|access-date 9 October 2020|and she represented France in the France-selects-Valentina title France selects Valentina! France-selects-Valentina archive date with her first single J'imagine. She went on to win the contest, giving France its first victory result.\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n\nLive albums\n\nCompilation albums\n\nOther releases\n\nSingles\n\nOther charted songs\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nSources\n\n \nFrench musical groups\nMusical groups established in 2015\n2015 establishments in France",
"Mummy Dearest is a Nollywood movie which tells a story of a woman who has five kids who wants to keep constantly in touch with her kids and has difficulties in getting in touch with the youngest child who is her one and only son. The reason why she is not getting good quality time with her kid is because he is busy with work and friends.\n\nReferences\n\nNigerian films"
]
|
|
[
"\\Weird Al\\\" Yankovic\"",
"Personal life",
"What is interesting about Yankovic's personal life?",
"Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America",
"Did he remain a vegan or change back to nomalr diet later on?",
"I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece.\"",
"Did he ever get married?",
"Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001",
"Did he have any kids with her?",
"Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003."
]
| C_55ecd6dee3b149a0871c31752b23afa8_1 | What was Yankovics main working activity? | 5 | What was Yankovics main working activity? | \Weird Al\" Yankovic" | Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America and he felt "it made ... a very compelling argument for a strict vegetarian diet". When asked how he can "rationalize" performing at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off when he is a vegan, he replied, "The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I'm not a student anymore." In a 2011 interview with news website OnMilwaukee, Yankovic clarified his stance on his diet, saying, "I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece." Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001 after being introduced by their mutual friend Bill Mumy. Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. Yankovic identifies as Christian and has stated that a couple from his church appeared on the cover of Poodle Hat. Yankovic's religious background is reflected in his abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and profanity. He and his family currently live in Los Angeles in a house previously owned at separate times by Jack S. Margolis and Heavy D. On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Several hours after his wife notified him of his parents' death, Yankovic went on with his concert in Appleton, Wisconsin, saying that "since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well" and that it would "at least ... give me a break from sobbing all the time." Their deaths occurred following the release of Poodle Hat, which was Yankovic's lowest-selling album in 20 years, but he considered continuing the show and tour therapeutic, saying "if I didn't have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go onstage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just OK." In a 2014 interview, Yankovic called his parents' death "the worst thing that ever happened to me." He added, "I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I'd have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly." CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | false | [
"Activity-based working (ABW) recognises that people perform different activities in their day-to-day work, and therefore need a variety of work settings supported by the right technology and culture to carry out these activities effectively. Activity Based Working’s heavy emphasis on the creation of a culture of connection, inspiration, accountability and trust empowers individuals, teams and the organisation to perform to their potential. On a personal level Activity Based Working also enables each person to organise their work activities in a productive and enjoyable way that best suits what they need to do, and who they need to do it with. Although not normally driven by cost-saving as the business strategy, it can produce efficiencies and cost savings through the nature of collaboration and team work helping to work more effectively. Inspiring spaces that evolve from an activity-based approach are designed to create opportunities for a variety of workplace activities, from intense and focused work to collaborative settings, areas for impromptu meetings or more formal meetings.\n\nStudies suggest that ABW (counter-intuitively) reduces face-to-face interactions, and increases email traffic significantly. Yet when we drill down further into these articles we discover that these misunderstandings come from mistaking Activity Based Working for simply a choice of one office layout over the other. Activity Based Working, rather, is a way of working that encourages teams to connect, individuals to flourish and organisations to thrive.\n\nHistory\n\nThe first known reference to an activity-based analysis of office work modes was by American architect Robert Luchetti from the late 1970s. He co-invented the now widely accepted concept of the office as a series of \"activity settings\" in 1983. In an activity settings-based environment, multiple settings are provided which have different technical and physical attributes assembled to support the variety of performance \"modes\" that take place in a work environment.\n\nThe term \"Activity Based Working\" was first coined in the book the Art of Working by Erik Veldhoen, a Dutch consultant with Veldhoen + Company, and author of the book The Demise of the Office. Activity Based Working was first implemented by Interpolis by Veldhoen + Company in the nineties in the Netherlands. Interpolis is one of largest insurance companies in the Netherlands. The company gained wide recognition with its advertising campaign \"Interpolis.Crystal clear\", which was adopted from their vision that was brought to life from their new way of working. Besides financial compensation, Interpolis also offers compensation in kind.\n\nThe activity-based office\n\nThe activity‐based office concept of the modern office is said to increase productivity through the stimulation of interaction and communication while retaining employee satisfaction and reducing the accommodation costs. Although some research has gone into understanding the added value, there is still a need for sound data on the relationship between office design, its intentions and the actual use after implementation.\n\nThe concept of activity-based workplace has been implemented in organisations as a solution to improve office space efficiency. However, the question of whether or not office workers' comfort or productivity are compromised in the pursuit of space efficiency has not been fully investigated. There are obstacles and issues of concern when practicing the activity-based office concept. A study carried out in activity-based workplace settings reports that employees without an assigned desk complain of desk shortages, difficulty finding colleagues which limits immediate collaboration, wasted time finding and setting up a workstation, and limited ability to adjust or personalise workstations to meet individual ergonomic needs. Another study suggest the importance of office design on occupants' satisfaction, perceived productivity and health long with reduced time workers spent seated in ABW offices\n\nThe most recent study released in 2020 by Veldhoen + Company, the founders of Activity Based Working, was the biggest global research project on Activity Based Working. The research set out searching for the measurable impact that Activity Based Working has, and drivers of success in Activity Based Working transitions. The research project was started in July 2019 and since then, COVID-19 had impacted every aspect of our lives, especially how we work. With a reach involving 32,369 responses and spanning 11 countries, the questions that were explored in addition to questions used from Leesman surveys, provided valuable context to understanding office workers’ behaviour. In particular the question we all face now in 2021 with what it might mean to go back to the office. The data tells us not only what type of workplace to return to, but also how to do so.\n\nNeed for a new office\n\nTo create a successful work environment, it is important to have insight into the demands and behaviours of the employees using this environment. Recently there has also been a move towards understanding interior design features underpinning occupants' higher satisfaction results in ABW, open-plan offices\n\nThere are three pillars that support a new way of working, based on the philosophy of activity-based working. These are the behavioral, virtual and physical environment of work environment, which can be linked to the working processes of human resources, IT and facility management in the work environment.\n\nReferences\n\nOffice buildings\nReal estate",
"In free software, Zeitgeist is a software service which logs the users's activities and events, anywhere from files opened to websites visited and conversations. It makes this information readily available for other applications to use in the form of timelines and statistics. It is able to establish relationships between items based on similarity and usage patterns by applying data association algorithms such as \"Winepi\" and \"Apriori\".\n\nZeitgeist is the main engine and logic behind GNOME Activity Journal which is currently seen to become one of the main means of viewing and managing activities in GNOME version 3.0.\n\nFeatures\n Zeitgeist currently logs file usage, web activity, plus chat and email conversations. More to come.\n Zeitgeist allows any application to store this information and makes it readily available over a DBus API.\n Zeitgeist figures out which are a user’s most used items, not only in general, but also applying time scoping as in “What was most relevant to me, while I was working on project X, for a month last year?”.\n Using machine-learning algorithms, Zeitgeist can establish relationships between items based on similarity and usage patterns.\n Zeitgeist is light-weight and supports extensions to enhance its engine’s core feature set.\n Extensions reside within the same process as the engine’s core logic. They can be used to include information about activity and experience beyond the desktop, such as geo-logging and geo-tagging.\n\nApplications\n GNOME Activity Journal\n Docky\n AWN\n Unity\n Synapse Launcher\n\nReferences\n\nLinux Magazine - Gran Canaria: GNOME Zeitgeist Tracks What You've Done\nLWN - Erlandsen: What We Talk About When We Talk About Zeitgeist\n\nExternal links\nZeitgeist description on GNOME wiki\nFormer Zeitgeist project page on Launchpad\n\nSemantic desktop\nFree software programmed in Python\nFree software programmed in Vala",
"The Main Street Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.\n\nHistory\nThe area that would become Main Street was originally a plank road designed for travelers on horses. With the arrival of the Wisconsin Central Railroad in 1871, a series of new businesses sprung up and the area began transitioning into Thiensville's new commercial center. Previously, the center of Thiensville's commercial activity was located to the east in what is now the Green Bay Road Historic District. Business continued to grow on Main Street with the introduction of an interurban in 1907. In 1915, the street was paved to accommodate automobiles and several automobile-related business opened up in response.\n\nReferences\n\nHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin\nGeography of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin\nNational Register of Historic Places in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin"
]
|
|
[
"\\Weird Al\\\" Yankovic\"",
"Personal life",
"What is interesting about Yankovic's personal life?",
"Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America",
"Did he remain a vegan or change back to nomalr diet later on?",
"I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece.\"",
"Did he ever get married?",
"Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001",
"Did he have any kids with her?",
"Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003.",
"What was Yankovics main working activity?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_55ecd6dee3b149a0871c31752b23afa8_1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 6 | Besides \Weird Al\" Yankovic", Personal life, are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | \Weird Al\" Yankovic" | Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America and he felt "it made ... a very compelling argument for a strict vegetarian diet". When asked how he can "rationalize" performing at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off when he is a vegan, he replied, "The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I'm not a student anymore." In a 2011 interview with news website OnMilwaukee, Yankovic clarified his stance on his diet, saying, "I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece." Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001 after being introduced by their mutual friend Bill Mumy. Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. Yankovic identifies as Christian and has stated that a couple from his church appeared on the cover of Poodle Hat. Yankovic's religious background is reflected in his abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and profanity. He and his family currently live in Los Angeles in a house previously owned at separate times by Jack S. Margolis and Heavy D. On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Several hours after his wife notified him of his parents' death, Yankovic went on with his concert in Appleton, Wisconsin, saying that "since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well" and that it would "at least ... give me a break from sobbing all the time." Their deaths occurred following the release of Poodle Hat, which was Yankovic's lowest-selling album in 20 years, but he considered continuing the show and tour therapeutic, saying "if I didn't have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go onstage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just OK." In a 2014 interview, Yankovic called his parents' death "the worst thing that ever happened to me." He added, "I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I'd have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly." CANNOTANSWER | On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home, | 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",
"This article is about the demographic features of the population of Saint Mary's, including population density, internet access, crime rate, and other aspects of the population.\n\nPopulation \nAccording to the 2011 census the population of Saint Mary was 7,341.\n\nOther demographics statistics (2011)\n\nCensus Data (2011)\n\nIndividual\n\nHousehold \nThere are 2,512 households in Saint Mary Parish.\n\nSee also\nDemographics of Antigua and Barbuda\n\nReferences\n\nAntigua and Barbuda Christians\nDemographics of Antigua and Barbuda"
]
|
|
[
"\\Weird Al\\\" Yankovic\"",
"Personal life",
"What is interesting about Yankovic's personal life?",
"Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America",
"Did he remain a vegan or change back to nomalr diet later on?",
"I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece.\"",
"Did he ever get married?",
"Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001",
"Did he have any kids with her?",
"Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003.",
"What was Yankovics main working activity?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home,"
]
| C_55ecd6dee3b149a0871c31752b23afa8_1 | How did the death's of his parents impact his life? | 7 | How did the death's of Yankovic's parents impact his life? | \Weird Al\" Yankovic" | Yankovic changed his diet to become a vegan in 1992 after a former girlfriend gave him the book Diet for a New America and he felt "it made ... a very compelling argument for a strict vegetarian diet". When asked how he can "rationalize" performing at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off when he is a vegan, he replied, "The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I'm not a student anymore." In a 2011 interview with news website OnMilwaukee, Yankovic clarified his stance on his diet, saying, "I am still a vegetarian, and I try to be a vegan, but I occasionally cheat. If there's a cheese pizza on the band bus, I might sneak a piece." Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001 after being introduced by their mutual friend Bill Mumy. Their daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. Yankovic identifies as Christian and has stated that a couple from his church appeared on the cover of Poodle Hat. Yankovic's religious background is reflected in his abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and profanity. He and his family currently live in Los Angeles in a house previously owned at separate times by Jack S. Margolis and Heavy D. On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California home, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Several hours after his wife notified him of his parents' death, Yankovic went on with his concert in Appleton, Wisconsin, saying that "since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well" and that it would "at least ... give me a break from sobbing all the time." Their deaths occurred following the release of Poodle Hat, which was Yankovic's lowest-selling album in 20 years, but he considered continuing the show and tour therapeutic, saying "if I didn't have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go onstage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just OK." In a 2014 interview, Yankovic called his parents' death "the worst thing that ever happened to me." He added, "I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I'd have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly." CANNOTANSWER | " In a 2014 interview, Yankovic called his parents' death "the worst thing that ever happened to me." | false | [
"Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin is a non-fiction book written by Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the parents of Trayvon Martin, a teenager whose death by shooting drew nationwide protests against racial violence.\n\nSummary\nRest in Power was written nearly five years after the killing of Trayvon Martin. Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother, says the book is intended as a means to heal, to share with the world the Trayvon Martin his parents knew and loved, and to describe the impact Martin's death and surrounding events had on their lives.\n\nThe book is introduced by Fulton who states \"no one gets over the death of a child.\" She describes how prior to the incident, she felt she was just another \"anonymous\" American who goes through life in a predictable rhythm of work, school, church and picnics. But after the death of Trayvon, she became an activist working to prevent other senseless gun violence. But this activism \"failed to prevent the death of Jordan Davis (Jacksonville, Florida), Michael Brown (Ferguson, Missouri), Tamir Rice (Cleveland, Ohio), Eric Garner (New York City) as well as countless others\".\n\nFulton goes on to discuss her son Trayvon and how before he became a \"martyr\" and \"symbol of racial injustice\", he was simply a boy growing up trying to find his way in life. She reflects on her own life growing up, meeting and marrying Tracy Martin, and raising Trayvon together.\n\nThe rest of the book alternates between Fulton and Tracy Martin as they discuss being forced out of their lives as ordinary Americans and into the spotlight because of death of their son and the events that followed.\n\nPublisher\nThe book was published by Spiegel & Grau (an imprint of Penguin Random House) in US on 31 January 2017, and by Jacaranda Books in UK on 1st February 2017.\n\nReception\nRest in Power was widely and favorably reviewed. In USA Today it received three and a half of four stars; in The Washington Post, Wesley Lowery called it \"a beautiful, searing account of their experience...an intimate portrait of their slain son and a detail-rich chronicle of the year from his death to his killer’s acquittal.\"\n\nSee also\nMothers of the Movement\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Interview with Sybrina Fulton by Janet Mock for Marie Claire\nAfter Words interview with Fulton and Martin on Rest in Power, February 25, 2017, C-SPAN\n\nKilling of Trayvon Martin\nAmerican non-fiction books\nBooks about African-American history\n2017 non-fiction books\nSpiegel & Grau books",
"Pete Johnson (born 29 April 1965) is a British children's writer with more than fifty books to his name. Inspired by the author, Dodie Smith – a fan letter led to a correspondence for over twenty years – his earlier books were for teenagers. But, his first breakout hit was The Ghost Dog in 1996; an eerie tale about the power of imagination which won both the Stockton Children's Book of the Year Award and The Young Telegraph Book of the Year. This book is still widely used in schools. Other horror stories followed including, The Creeper (2001) which also won The Stockton Children's Book of the Year Award and The Vampire Blog (2010) which won The Brilliant Book Award. \n\nHis anti-bullying novels Traitor (2002) and Avenger (2004) have also earned special praise and several prizes. Although, in more recent years, he has achieved his greatest success with comedies such as, Trust me I’m a Troublemaker, 2005 winner of The Calerdale Children’s Book Award and shortlisted for the Lincolnshire Young People’s Award. Help I’m a Classroom Gambler (2006), winner of both The Sheffield and Leicester Children's Book Awards. And The Bad Spy’s Guide (2007) shortlisted for The Blue Peter Book Award (Book I couldn't put down category)\n\nHow to Train Your Parents (2003), his biggest international success, is now translated into twenty-nine languages. The lead character Louis the Laugh has since appeared in four stand-alone sequels. My Parents Are Out of Control (2013), shortlisted for The Roald Dahl Funny Prize. My Parents are Driving me Crazy (2015), How to Update Your Parents (2016) – which deals with the impact of the internet on family life and How to Fool Your Parents (2017).\n\nHe has also written best-selling comedies for Barrington Stoke, including, Diary of an (Un) Teenager (2004) and Awesome (2013).\n\nPete Johnson was made a Reading Champion by the Book Trust in recognition of all his work in promoting reading in schools and libraries. He lives near St Albans.\n\nAs part of celebrations marking twenty years of The Stockton Children's Book Award in March 2018, Pete Johnson has been invited to return – he is the first author to win this award and the only writer to win it twice.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n \n \n\n1965 births\nLiving people\nBritish children's writers\nBritish horror writers",
"Hamed Bismel Nastoh (December 18, 1985 – March 11, 2000) was a Canadian high school student who died by suicide by jumping off the Pattullo Bridge due to bullying.\n\nEarly life \nNastoh was born to Afghan parents in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. His parents fled Afghanistan in 1984 during the Soviet-Afghanistan War. Nastoh attended Enver Creek Secondary School in Surrey, along with his brother Abdullah. Nastoh was described as a smart student who liked horror movies, reading, dancing and music. Nastoh, then 14 years old, was bullied in person. In a note he mentions to his parents that high school was terrible for him, everyone in his school would call him \"gay\", \"fag\", \"queer\", \"four-eyes\" and \"big-nose\" because his average grades were above 90 percent. He left a suicide note saying \"I hate myself for doing this to you,\" he wrote to his parents. \"I really, really hate myself, but there is no other way out.\"\n\nThe Nastoh family lived on 143rd Street in Surrey, around away from the Pattullo Bridge, which spans the Fraser River and links Surrey and New Westminster. At 5:00 pm, Nastoh's mother, father, and younger brother, David, went outside to hang out with a neighbour. Hamed and his older brother, Abdullah, were home during the night. One hour later, Abdullah took a shower. Hamed put on his new Tommy Hilfiger jacket, left the house and made his way, probably by bus, to the Pattullo Bridge. When Nastoh arrived at the bridge he jumped to his death.\n\nInvestigation \n\nWhen Abdullah got out of the shower, he realized that Hamed had disappeared. He phoned his parents, and their father, Kirim, rushed home to investigate. On finding the note, he phoned the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Hamed did not give any hints about how he killed himself, and the RCMP searched around Nastoh's home.\n\nThe day after, police found his body in the Fraser River, just south of the Pattullo Bridge. He wore a blue Nike backpack filled with rocks to weigh himself down. According to the coroner's report, \"They were unnecessary.\" Hamed Nastoh died from blunt trauma after his eye hit a rock in the water at around . The only noticeable mark was a minor scratch on his nose.\n\nA week before his death, Hamed had attended a suicide awareness talk at Enver Creek Secondary School, given by a mother who had lost her son. In his note, Hamed wrote that he'd given his parents a \"hint\" when he mentioned that the speaker had said that suicidal people give hints.\n\nAftermath and impact on schools\n\nHomosexuality issues high school course \nHamed's suicide from the Patullo Bridge made the Government of British Columbia to introduce the Grade 12 Homosexuality issues course. This course was developed in 2007 and is considered an elective course for Grade 12 high school students.\n\nThis course was meant to prevent a trial in court before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, which made the agreement to listen to a gay couples complaints that secondary schools in British Columbia are blameworthy of prejudice by not talking about sexual identities as how the curriculum expects.\n\nAs a comeback, the Liberal Party of Canada agreed with the Government of British Columbia in developing this course, which discusses the topic of tolerance, especially how it relates to sexual identities, ethnicity and race. However, the course will not be mandatory in 37 secondary schools in British Columbia that represent over 8,000 students.\n\nHamed Nastoh's Anti-Bullying Coalition \n\nHamed mentioned in his suicide note for the reader to go to all the secondary schools in Surrey. He wanted other students to know that all forms of bullying can have a bad impact on the victim. Listening to his message, Nasima formed Hamed Nastoh's Anti-Bullying Coalition, to raise awareness of bullying in elementary and high schools, and help parents of children suffering from bullying. Nasima has presented Hamed's suicide note and story to numerous schools in British Columbia.\n\nHis mother states her message is clear and simple: \"Suicide is not the solution.\" Using her son's suicide note to show how much he suffered in high school before committing suicide, Nasima hopes to give support to teenagers and the community and assure them they are not alone. Nasima said, \"Seek help. If you don't talk about it nobody can hear,\" noting that children and teenagers are afraid of having discussions about being bullied if they notify their parents or teachers. Nasima says that Hamed Nastoh's Anti-Bullying Coalition has given her confidence to overcome her agony and misery.\n\nSee also \n Cyberbullying\n List of suicides that have been attributed to bullying\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n Hamed Nastoh Memorial Page\n Anti bullying Nasima Nastoh\n\n1985 births\n2000 deaths\n2000 suicides\nCanadian people of Afghan descent\n2000 in British Columbia\nBullying and suicide\nDeaths by person in Canada\nYouth suicides\nVictims of cyberbullying\nSuicides in British Columbia\nSuicides by jumping in Canada"
]
|
|
[
"Stereolab",
"Musical style"
]
| C_c332cd3357ba46e388acc757c1c5ab18_1 | How has Stereolab's style been described? | 1 | How has Stereolab's musical style been described? | Stereolab | Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock experimental rock, and experimental pop. Their records are heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations, and the sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to their earlier guitar-driven style. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in The Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab was referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Stereolab make use of vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently feature Moog synthesizers. Laetitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning; and would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in The Wire that she "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico". Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals. In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting." CANNOTANSWER | Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies. | Stereolab are an Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist movements. On stage, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. The band also draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music, and were one of the first artists to be dubbed "post-rock". They are regarded among the most innovative and influential groups of the 1990s.
Stereolab were formed by Gane (guitar and keyboards) and Sadier (vocals, keyboards and guitar) after the break-up of McCarthy. The two were romantically involved for fourteen years and are the group's only consistent members. Other longtime members include 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances.
Although Stereolab found success in the underground music scene and were influential enough to spark a renewed interest in older analogue instruments, they have never had a significant commercial impact. The band were released from their recording contract with Elektra Records due to poor record sales, and their self-owned label Duophonic signed a distribution deal with Too Pure and later Warp Records. After a ten-year hiatus, the band reunited for live performances in 2019.
History
1990–1993: Formation
In 1985, Tim Gane formed McCarthy, a band from Essex, England, known for their left-wing politics. Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France, at a 1988 McCarthy concert in Paris and the two quickly fell in love. The musically-inclined Sadier was disillusioned with the rock scene in France and soon moved to London to be with Gane and pursue her career. In 1990, after three albums, McCarthy broke up and Gane immediately formed Stereolab with Sadier (who had also contributed vocals to McCarthy's final album), ex-Chills bassist Martin Kean and Gina Morris on backing vocals. Stereolab's name was taken from a division of Vanguard Records demonstrating hi-fi effects.
Gane and Sadier, along with future band manager Martin Pike, set up a record label called Duophonic Super 45s which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic". Gane said that their "original plan" was to distribute multiple 7 and 10-inch records "–to just do one a month and keep doing them in small editions". The 10 inch vinyl EP Super 45, released in May 1991, was the first release for both Stereolab and the label, and was sold through mail order and through the Rough Trade Shop in London. Super 45s band-designed album art and packaging was the first of many customised and limited-edition Duophonic records. In a 1996 interview in The Wire, Gane calls the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic behind Duophonic "empowering", and said that by releasing one's own music "you learn; it creates more music, more ideas".
Stereolab released the EP, Super-Electric in September 1991, and a single, titled Stunning Debut Album, followed in November 1991 (which was neither debut nor album). The early material was rock and guitar-oriented; of Super-Electric, Jason Ankeny wrote in AllMusic that "Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks—not vintage synths and pointillist melodies—were their calling cards ..." Under the independent label Too Pure, the group's first full-length album, Peng! was released in May 1992. A compilation titled, Switched On, was released in October 1992 and would be part of a series of compilations that anthologise the band's more obscure material.
Around this time, the line-up consisted of Gane and Sadier plus vocalist and guitarist Mary Hansen, drummer Andy Ramsay, bassist Duncan Brown, and keyboardist Katharine Gifford. Hansen, born in Australia, had been in touch with Gane since his McCarthy days. After joining, she and Sadier developed a style of vocal counterpoint that distinguished Stereolab's sound. Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas joined as a quick replacement for their touring keyboardist, but was invited for their next record and "was allowed to make suggestions".
1993–2001: Critical recognition
Stereolab introduced easy-listening elements into their sound with the EP Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, released in March 1993. The work raised the band's profile and landed them a major-label American record deal with Elektra Records. Their first album under Elektra, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (August 1993), was an underground success in both the US and the UK. Mark Jenkins commented in Washington Post that with the album, Stereolab "continues the glorious drones of [their] indie work, giving celestial sweep to [their] garage-rock organ pumping and rhythm-guitar strumming". In the UK, the album was released on Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, which is responsible for domestic releases of Stereolab's major albums.
In January 1994, Stereolab achieved their first chart entry when the 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline, entered at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart. (Over the next three years, four more releases by the band would appear on this chart, ending with the EP Miss Modular in 1997.) Their third album, Mars Audiac Quintet, was released in August 1994. The album contains the single "Ping Pong", which gained press coverage for its explicitly Marxist lyrics. The band focused more on pop and less on rock, resulting in what AllMusic described as "what may be the group's most accessible, tightly-written album". It was the last album to feature O'Hagan as a full-time member. He would continue to make guest appearances on later releases. The group issued an EP titled Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center in April 1995. The EP was their musical contribution to an interactive art exhibit put on in collaboration with New York City artist Charles Long. Their second compilation of rarities, titled Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2), was released in July 1995.
The band's fourth album, Emperor Tomato Ketchup (March 1996), was a critical success and was played heavily on college radio. A record that "captivated alternative rock", it represented the group's "high-water mark" said music journalists Tom Moon and Joshua Klein, respectively. The album incorporated their early krautrock sound with funk, hip-hop influences and experimental instrumental arrangements. John McEntire of Tortoise also assisted with production and played on the album. Katharine Gifford was replaced by Morgane Lhote before recording, and bassist Duncan Brown by Richard Harrison after. Lhote was required to both learn the keyboards and 30 of the group's songs before joining.
Released in September 1997, Dots and Loops was their first album to enter the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 111. The album leaned towards jazz with bossa nova and 60's pop influences. Barney Hoskyns wrote in Rolling Stone that with it the group moved "ever further away from the one-chord Velvets drone-mesh of its early days" toward easy-listening and Europop. A review in German newspaper Die Zeit stated that in Dots and Loops, Stereolab transformed the harder Velvet Underground-like riffs of previous releases into "softer sounds and noisy playfulness". Contributors to the album included John McEntire and Jan St. Werner of German electropop duo Mouse on Mars. Stereolab toured for seven months and took a break when Gane and Sadier had a child. The group's third compilation of rarities, Aluminum Tunes, was issued in October 1998.
Their sixth album, Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, was released in September 1999. It was co-produced by McEntire and American producer Jim O'Rourke, and was recorded with their new bassist, Simon Johns. The album received mixed reviews for its lighter sound, and peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200. An unsigned NME review said that "this record has far more in common with bad jazz and progressive rock than any experimental art-rock tradition." In a 1999 article of Washington Post, Mark Jenkins asked Gane about the album's apparent lack of guitars; Gane responded, "There's a lot less upfront, distorted guitar ... But it's still quite guitar-based music. Every single track has a guitar on it."
Stereolab's seventh album, Sound-Dust (August 2001), rose to number 178 on the Billboard 200. The album also featured producers McEntire and O'Rourke. Sound-Dust was more warmly received than Cobra and Phases Group…. Critic Joshua Klein said that "the emphasis this time sounds less on unfocused experimentation and more on melody ... a breezy and welcome return to form for the British band." Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the album "[finds the group] deliberately recharging their creative juices" but he argued that Sound-Dust was "anchored in overly familiar territory."
2002–2008: Death of Hansen and later releases
In 2002, as they were planning their next album, Stereolab started building a studio north of Bordeaux, France. ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions; a compilation of BBC Radio 1 sessions was released in October. In the same year, Gane and Sadier's romantic relationship ended.
On 9 December 2002, Hansen was killed when hit by a truck while riding her bicycle. She was 36. Writer Pierre Perrone said that her "playful nature and mischievous sense of humour came through in the way she approached the backing vocals she contributed to Stereolab and the distinctive harmonies she created with Sadier." For the next few months, Stereolab lay dormant as the members grieved. They eventually decided to continue. Future album and concert reviews would mention the effects of Hansen's absence.
The EP Instant 0 in the Universe (October 2003) was recorded in France, and was Stereolab's first release following Hansen's death. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis said that the EP marked a return to their earlier, harder sound—"free from the pseudo-funk moves and avant-garde tinkering that had been inspired by Chicago producer Jim O'Rourke".
Stereolab's eighth album, Margerine Eclipse, was released on 27 January 2004 with generally positive reviews, and peaked at number 174 on the US Billboard 200. The track "Feel and Triple" was written in tribute to Hansen; Sadier said, "I was reflecting on my years with her ... reflecting on how we sometimes found it hard to express the love we had for one another." Sadier continued, "Our dedication to her on the album says, 'We will love you till the end', meaning of our lives. I'm not religious, but I feel Mary's energy is still around somewhere. It didn't just disappear." The Observers Molloy Woodcraft gave the album four out of five stars, and commented that Sadier's vocal performance as "life- and love-affirming", and the record as a whole as "Complex and catchy, bold and beatific." Kelefa Sanneh commented in Rolling Stone that Margerine Eclipse was "full of familiar noises and aimless melodies". Margerine Eclipse was Stereolab's last record to be released on American label Elektra Records, which shut down that same year. Future material would be released on Too Pure, the same label which had released some of the band's earliest material.
The group released six limited-edition singles in 2005 and 2006, which were anthologised in the 2006 compilation Fab Four Suture, and contained material which Mark Jenkins thought continued the brisker sound of the band's post-Hansen work. By June 2007, Stereolab's line-up comprised Tim Gane, Lætitia Sadier, Andy Ramsay, Simon Johns, Dominic Jeffrey, Joseph Watson, and Joseph Walters. In 2008, the band issued their next album under the label 4AD titled, Chemical Chords, which "[downplays] their arsenal of analog synths in favor of live instrumentation". The release was followed by an autumn tour in Europe, the United States and Canada.
In February 2009, they toured Australia as part of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival.
2009–2019: Hiatus and reunion
In April 2009, Stereolab manager Martin Pike announced a pause in their activities for the time being. He said that it was an opportune time for the members to move on to other projects. Not Music, a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as Chemical Chords, was released in 2010. In 2013, Gane and Sadier, who both focused on Cavern of Anti-Matter and solo work respectively, performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival held at Pontins in Camber Sands.
In February 2019, the group announced a tour of Europe and the United States to coincide with expanded, remastered reissues of several of the albums released under Warp Records. Stereolab were part of the lineup for 2019's Primavera Sound festival, taking part on the weekend of 30 May in Barcelona, Spain, and the following weekend in Porto, Portugal. It was the group's first live performance since 2009.
Musical style
Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies, and have also made use of unorthodox time signatures. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock, experimental rock, and experimental pop. Sadier remarked in 2015 that "[the band's] records were written and recorded very quickly… we would write 35 tracks, sometimes more".
The band have played on vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently features Moog synthesizers.
Lætitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning, and she would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in Wire that Sadier "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico", while some critics have commented that her vocals were unintelligible.Shea (2002), pp.53,54 Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic", as well as "sweet [and] slightly alien". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals.
In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting."
Influences
Their records have been heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that their music also had "echoes of bubblegum, of exotica, of Beach Boys and bossa nova", with their earlier work "bearing strong Velvet Underground overtones". Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations for the band. Stephan Davet of French newspaper Le Monde said that Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) had musical influences such as Burt Bacharach, and Françoise Hardy. The sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab [were] referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to the band's earlier guitar-driven style.
Live performances
Stereolab toured regularly to support their album releases. In a 1996 Washington Post gig review, Mark Jenkins wrote that Stereolab started out favouring an "easy-listening syncopation", but eventually reverted to a "messier, more urgent sound" characteristic of their earlier performances. In another review Jenkins said that the band's live songs "frequently veer[ed] into more cacophonous, guitar-dominated territory", in contrast to their albums such as Cobra and Phases Group… In the Minneapolis Star Tribune Jon Bream compared the band's live sound to feedback-driven rock bands like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Jim Harrington of The Oakland Tribune argued that "Sadier often sounded like a third percussion instrument more than a lead vocalist", further stating in regard to her switching between singing in English and French that "a Stereolab show is one of the few concerts where it's hard to find even the biggest fans mouthing along with the lyrics." Regarding being onstage, Gane has said that "I don't like to be the center of attention ... I just get into the music and am not really aware of the people there. That's my way of getting through it." Remarking of the band's 2019 reunion tour, he added that "[Stereolab] never were really a festival band… We’re not like, 'Hey, how you all doing?' and all that stuff.”
Lyrics and titles
Stereolab's music is politically and philosophically charged. Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that the group "[uses] lyrics to convey ideas while using them for the pleasurable way the words sound." Lætitia Sadier, who writes the group's lyrics, was influenced by both the Situationist philosophy Society of the Spectacle by Marxist theorist Guy Debord, and her anger towards the Iraq War. The Surrealist, as well as other Situationist cultural and political movements were also influences, as stated by Sadier and Gane in a 1999 Salon interview.
Critics have seen Marxist allusions in the band's lyrics, and have gone so far as to call the band members themselves Marxist. Music journalist Simon Reynolds commented that Sadier's lyrics tend to lean towards Marxist social commentary rather than "affairs of the heart". The 1994 single "Ping Pong" has been put forward as evidence in regard to these alleged views. In the song, Sadier sings "about capitalism's cruel cycles of slump and recovery" with lyrics that constitute "a plainspoken explanation of one of the central tenets of Marxian economic analysis" (said critics Reynolds and Stewart Mason, respectively).
Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism. In a 1999 interview, Gane stated that "none of us are Marxists ... I've never even read Marx." Gane said that although Sadier's lyrics touch on political topics, they do not cross the line into "sloganeering". Sadier also said that she had read very little Marx. In contrast, Cornelius Castoriadis, a radical political philosopher but strong critic of Marxism, has been cited as a marking influence in Sadier's thinking. The name of her side project, Monade, and its debut album title, Socialisme ou Barbarie, are also references to the work of Castoriadis.
Stereolab's album and song titles occasionally reference avant-garde groups and artists. Gane said that the title of their 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group… contains the names of two Surrealist organisations, "CoBrA" and "Phases Group", The title of the song "Brakhage" from Dots and Loops (1997), is a nod to experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Other examples are the 1992 compilation Switched On, named after Wendy Carlos' 1968 album Switched-On Bach, and the 1993 song "Jenny Ondioline", a portmanteau of inventor Georges Jenny and his instrument the Ondioline.
Legacy
Stereolab have been called one of the most "influential" and "fiercely independent and original groups of the Nineties" by writers Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Pierre Perrone respectively; as well as one of "the decade's most innovative British bands." by Mark Jenkins. Simon Reynolds commented in Rolling Stone that the group's earlier records form "an endlessly seductive body of work that sounds always the same, always different." In a review for the 1992 single "John Cage Bubblegum", Jason Ankeny said that "No other artist of its generation fused the high-minded daring of the avant-garde and the lowbrow infectiousness of pop with as much invention, skill, and appeal." In The Wire, Peter Shapiro compared the band to Britpop bands Oasis and Blur, and defended their music against the charge that it is "nothing but the sum total of its arcane reference points." They were one of the first groups to be termed post-rock—in a 1996 article, journalist Angela Lewis applied the "new term" to Stereolab and three other bands who have connections to the group. Stylistically, music journalist J. D. Considine credits the band for anticipating and driving the late 1990s revival of vintage analogue instruments among indie rock bands. Stephen Christian, a creative director of Warp Records, said that the group "exists in the gap between the experimentation of the underground and the appeal of the wider world of pop music".
The group have also received negative press. Barney Hoskyns questioned the longevity of their music in a 1996 Mojo review, saying that their records "sound more like arid experiments than music born of emotional need." In Guardian, Dave Simpson stated: "With their borrowings from early, obscure Kraftwerk and hip obtuse sources, [Stereolab] sound like a band of rock critics rather than musicians." Lætitia Sadier's vocals were cited by author Stuart Shea as often being "indecipherable".
A variety of artists, musical and otherwise, have collaborated with Stereolab. In 1995 the group teamed up with sculptor Charles Long for an interactive art show in New York City, for which Long provided the exhibits and Stereolab the music. They have released tracks by and toured with post-rock band Tortoise, while John McEntire of Tortoise has in turn worked on several Stereolab albums. In the 1990s, the group collaborated with the industrial band Nurse With Wound and released two albums together, Crumb Duck (1993) and Simple Headphone Mind (1998), and Stereolab also released "Calimero" (1998) with French avant-garde singer and poet Brigitte Fontaine. The band worked with Herbie Mann on the song "One Note Samba/Surfboard" for the 1998 AIDS-Benefit album, Red Hot + Rio, produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Stereolab alumni have also founded bands of their own. Guitarist Tim Gane founded the side project Cavern of Anti-Matter and also formed Turn on alongside band member Sean O'Hagan, who formed his own band the High Llamas. Katharine Gifford formed Snowpony with former My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe. Sadier has released three albums with her four-piece side-project Monade, whose sound Mark Jenkins called a "little more Parisian" than Stereolab's. Backing vocalist Mary Hansen formed a band named Schema with members of Hovercraft and released their eponymous EP in 2000.
As of August 1999, US album sales stood at 300,000 copies sold. Despite receiving critical acclaim and a sizeable fanbase, commercial success eluded the group. Early in their career, their 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline entered the UK Singles Chart, but financial issues prevented the band from printing enough records to satisfy demand. According to Sadier, however, the band "[avoided] going overground" like PJ Harvey, Pulp and the Cranberries, all of whom quickly rose from obscurity to fame, adding: "This kind of notoriety is not a particularly good thing, [and] you don't enjoy it anymore." When Elektra Records was closed down by Warner Bros. Records in 2004, Stereolab was dropped along with many other artists, reportedly because of poor sales. Tim Gane said in retrospect that the group "signed to Elektra because we thought we would be on there for an album or two and then we'd get ejected. We were surprised when we got to our first album!" Since then, Stereolab's self-owned label Duophonic has inked a worldwide distribution deal with independent label Too Pure. Through Duophonic, the band both licenses their music and releases it directly (depending on geographic market). Gane said, "... we license our recordings and just give them to people, then we don't have to ask for permission if we want to use it. We just want to be in control of our own music."
MembersCurrent membersTim Gane - guitar, keyboards
Lætitia Sadier - lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, trombone
Andy Ramsay - drums
Joseph Watson - keyboards, vibraphone, backing vocals
Xavier Muñoz Guimera - bass guitar, backing vocals Former membersJoe Dilworth - drums
Martin Kean - bass guitar
Gina Morris - backing vocals
Mick Conroy - keyboards
Mary Hansen - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion
Sean O'Hagan - keyboards, guitar
Duncan Brown - bass guitar
Katharine Gifford - keyboards
Morgane Lhote - keyboards
David Pajo - bass guitar
Richard Harrison - bass guitar
Simon Johns - bass guitar
Dominic Jeffery - keyboards
Joseph Walters - french horn, guitar, keyboards
Julien Gasc - keyboards, backing vocals TimelineDiscography
Stereolab released many non-LP tracks that they later anthologised as compilation albums.Studio albums Peng! (1992)
Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (1993)
Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)
Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
Dots and Loops (1997)
Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (1999)
Sound-Dust (2001)
Margerine Eclipse (2004)
Chemical Chords (2008)
Not Music (2010)Compilation albums'''
Switched On (1992)
Refried Ectoplasm: Switched On, Vol. 2 (1995)
Aluminum Tunes: Switched On, Vol. 3 (1998)
ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions (2002)
Oscillons from the Anti-Sun (2005)
Fab Four Suture (2006)
Serene Velocity: A Stereolab Anthology (2006)
Electrically Possessed: Switched On, Vol. 4'' (2021)
References
Book sources
Chart data
External links
Musical groups established in 1990
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
Musical groups reestablished in 2019
English indie rock groups
English post-rock groups
Flying Nun Records artists
Drag City (record label) artists
4AD artists
British indie pop groups
English experimental rock groups
Art pop musicians
Experimental pop musicians
Avant-pop musicians
Slumberland Records artists | false | [
"Not Music is the tenth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab, released on 16 November 2010 by Drag City and Duophonic Records. The album is a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as their previous album Chemical Chords (2008).\n\nBackground\nMost of the songs on Not Music were recorded during the same sessions as Stereolab's previous album Chemical Chords. The album also contains remixed versions of \"Silver Sands\" and \"Neon Beanbag\", two songs that previously appeared on Chemical Chords.\n\nNot Music was released by Drag City and Stereolab's self-operated label Duophonic Records on 16 November 2010, during the band's indefinite hiatus following the 2008 release of Chemical Chords.\n\nCritical reception\n\nNot Music received generally positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregate website Metacritic, the album has a score of 70 out of 100, indicating \"Generally favorable reviews\".\n\nArnold Pan of PopMatters found that \"the catchiest tracks on Not Music make a good soundtrack for strolling down memory lane, with Stereolab offering fresh takes on old triumphs, rather than just reliving them.\" Rebecca Raber of Pitchfork was also positive, writing, \"I suspect it won't be long before we realize that the leftovers of a band like Stereolab are still better than main dishes offered up by many of their peers.\" AllMusic critic Heather Phares described Not Music as being \"all over the place in the best possible way\", noting that it would especially appeal to listeners interested in \"Stereolab's gracefully intellectual side\". The A.V. Clubs Christian Williams said that while the record felt padded near the end, \"[f]or reheated leftovers... Not Music is delicious.\"\n\nIn a mixed review, Jon Falcone of Drowned in Sound wrote, \"Stereolab will always provide excitement, but in the past, part of that excitement came from a band having no idea of how they should sound, so that the result threw polemics and tangents together with an unmatched grace. Now it feels as though they're comfortable in their skin. This is great for them, but for the listener it's a bitter sweet comfort and feels akin to insincerely wishing well to an ex who has happily moved on.\" Under the Radar writer Hays Davis was more critical, describing Not Music as \"one of those albums of extras that disappointingly lays bare why these tracks were excluded from those that initially found a release.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\nCredits are adapted from the album's liner notes.\n\nStereolab\n Tim Gane – guitar\n Lætitia Sadier – vocals\n Simon Johns – bass\n Andy Ramsay – drums, VCS 3 synthesizer\n Joe Watson – Moog synthesizer, Farfisa organ\n\nAdditional musicians\n Sean O'Hagan – brass arrangements on \"Supah Jaianto\"\n Joe Walters – French horn\n\nProduction\n Atlas Sound – remixing on \"Neon Beanbag\" (Atlas Sound mix)\n The Emperor Machine – remixing on \"Silver Sands\" (Emperor Machine mix)\n Bo Kondren (credited as \"Bo\") – mastering\n Stereolab (credited as \"The Groop\") – mixing\n Joe Watson – engineering, mixing\n\nDesign\n Vee – sleeve design\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\n2010 albums\nStereolab albums\nDrag City (record label) albums",
"Low Fi is the third EP by English-French rock band Stereolab, released in September 1992 by Too Pure. The title of the final track \"Elektro (He Held the World in His Iron Grip)\" is taken from the cover of the thirteenth issue of the comic book Tales of Suspense, released in 1961. Low-Fi has not been compiled or released on streaming services by Stereolab. It is the first Stereolab release to feature longtime drummer Andy Ramsay and backing vocalist Mary Hansen, who stayed with the band until her tragic death in 2003.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Low Fi\" – 5:23\n \"(Varoom!)\" – 9:02\n \"Laisser-Faire\" – 4:32\n \"Elektro (He Held the World in His Iron Grip)\" – 5:46\n\nReferences\n\n1992 EPs\nStereolab EPs"
]
|
[
"Stereolab",
"Musical style",
"How has Stereolab's style been described?",
"Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies."
]
| C_c332cd3357ba46e388acc757c1c5ab18_1 | Who are their musical influences? | 2 | Who are Stereolab's musical influences? | Stereolab | Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock experimental rock, and experimental pop. Their records are heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations, and the sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to their earlier guitar-driven style. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in The Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab was referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Stereolab make use of vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently feature Moog synthesizers. Laetitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning; and would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in The Wire that she "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico". Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals. In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting." CANNOTANSWER | Their records are heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. | Stereolab are an Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist movements. On stage, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. The band also draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music, and were one of the first artists to be dubbed "post-rock". They are regarded among the most innovative and influential groups of the 1990s.
Stereolab were formed by Gane (guitar and keyboards) and Sadier (vocals, keyboards and guitar) after the break-up of McCarthy. The two were romantically involved for fourteen years and are the group's only consistent members. Other longtime members include 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances.
Although Stereolab found success in the underground music scene and were influential enough to spark a renewed interest in older analogue instruments, they have never had a significant commercial impact. The band were released from their recording contract with Elektra Records due to poor record sales, and their self-owned label Duophonic signed a distribution deal with Too Pure and later Warp Records. After a ten-year hiatus, the band reunited for live performances in 2019.
History
1990–1993: Formation
In 1985, Tim Gane formed McCarthy, a band from Essex, England, known for their left-wing politics. Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France, at a 1988 McCarthy concert in Paris and the two quickly fell in love. The musically-inclined Sadier was disillusioned with the rock scene in France and soon moved to London to be with Gane and pursue her career. In 1990, after three albums, McCarthy broke up and Gane immediately formed Stereolab with Sadier (who had also contributed vocals to McCarthy's final album), ex-Chills bassist Martin Kean and Gina Morris on backing vocals. Stereolab's name was taken from a division of Vanguard Records demonstrating hi-fi effects.
Gane and Sadier, along with future band manager Martin Pike, set up a record label called Duophonic Super 45s which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic". Gane said that their "original plan" was to distribute multiple 7 and 10-inch records "–to just do one a month and keep doing them in small editions". The 10 inch vinyl EP Super 45, released in May 1991, was the first release for both Stereolab and the label, and was sold through mail order and through the Rough Trade Shop in London. Super 45s band-designed album art and packaging was the first of many customised and limited-edition Duophonic records. In a 1996 interview in The Wire, Gane calls the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic behind Duophonic "empowering", and said that by releasing one's own music "you learn; it creates more music, more ideas".
Stereolab released the EP, Super-Electric in September 1991, and a single, titled Stunning Debut Album, followed in November 1991 (which was neither debut nor album). The early material was rock and guitar-oriented; of Super-Electric, Jason Ankeny wrote in AllMusic that "Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks—not vintage synths and pointillist melodies—were their calling cards ..." Under the independent label Too Pure, the group's first full-length album, Peng! was released in May 1992. A compilation titled, Switched On, was released in October 1992 and would be part of a series of compilations that anthologise the band's more obscure material.
Around this time, the line-up consisted of Gane and Sadier plus vocalist and guitarist Mary Hansen, drummer Andy Ramsay, bassist Duncan Brown, and keyboardist Katharine Gifford. Hansen, born in Australia, had been in touch with Gane since his McCarthy days. After joining, she and Sadier developed a style of vocal counterpoint that distinguished Stereolab's sound. Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas joined as a quick replacement for their touring keyboardist, but was invited for their next record and "was allowed to make suggestions".
1993–2001: Critical recognition
Stereolab introduced easy-listening elements into their sound with the EP Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, released in March 1993. The work raised the band's profile and landed them a major-label American record deal with Elektra Records. Their first album under Elektra, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (August 1993), was an underground success in both the US and the UK. Mark Jenkins commented in Washington Post that with the album, Stereolab "continues the glorious drones of [their] indie work, giving celestial sweep to [their] garage-rock organ pumping and rhythm-guitar strumming". In the UK, the album was released on Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, which is responsible for domestic releases of Stereolab's major albums.
In January 1994, Stereolab achieved their first chart entry when the 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline, entered at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart. (Over the next three years, four more releases by the band would appear on this chart, ending with the EP Miss Modular in 1997.) Their third album, Mars Audiac Quintet, was released in August 1994. The album contains the single "Ping Pong", which gained press coverage for its explicitly Marxist lyrics. The band focused more on pop and less on rock, resulting in what AllMusic described as "what may be the group's most accessible, tightly-written album". It was the last album to feature O'Hagan as a full-time member. He would continue to make guest appearances on later releases. The group issued an EP titled Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center in April 1995. The EP was their musical contribution to an interactive art exhibit put on in collaboration with New York City artist Charles Long. Their second compilation of rarities, titled Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2), was released in July 1995.
The band's fourth album, Emperor Tomato Ketchup (March 1996), was a critical success and was played heavily on college radio. A record that "captivated alternative rock", it represented the group's "high-water mark" said music journalists Tom Moon and Joshua Klein, respectively. The album incorporated their early krautrock sound with funk, hip-hop influences and experimental instrumental arrangements. John McEntire of Tortoise also assisted with production and played on the album. Katharine Gifford was replaced by Morgane Lhote before recording, and bassist Duncan Brown by Richard Harrison after. Lhote was required to both learn the keyboards and 30 of the group's songs before joining.
Released in September 1997, Dots and Loops was their first album to enter the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 111. The album leaned towards jazz with bossa nova and 60's pop influences. Barney Hoskyns wrote in Rolling Stone that with it the group moved "ever further away from the one-chord Velvets drone-mesh of its early days" toward easy-listening and Europop. A review in German newspaper Die Zeit stated that in Dots and Loops, Stereolab transformed the harder Velvet Underground-like riffs of previous releases into "softer sounds and noisy playfulness". Contributors to the album included John McEntire and Jan St. Werner of German electropop duo Mouse on Mars. Stereolab toured for seven months and took a break when Gane and Sadier had a child. The group's third compilation of rarities, Aluminum Tunes, was issued in October 1998.
Their sixth album, Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, was released in September 1999. It was co-produced by McEntire and American producer Jim O'Rourke, and was recorded with their new bassist, Simon Johns. The album received mixed reviews for its lighter sound, and peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200. An unsigned NME review said that "this record has far more in common with bad jazz and progressive rock than any experimental art-rock tradition." In a 1999 article of Washington Post, Mark Jenkins asked Gane about the album's apparent lack of guitars; Gane responded, "There's a lot less upfront, distorted guitar ... But it's still quite guitar-based music. Every single track has a guitar on it."
Stereolab's seventh album, Sound-Dust (August 2001), rose to number 178 on the Billboard 200. The album also featured producers McEntire and O'Rourke. Sound-Dust was more warmly received than Cobra and Phases Group…. Critic Joshua Klein said that "the emphasis this time sounds less on unfocused experimentation and more on melody ... a breezy and welcome return to form for the British band." Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the album "[finds the group] deliberately recharging their creative juices" but he argued that Sound-Dust was "anchored in overly familiar territory."
2002–2008: Death of Hansen and later releases
In 2002, as they were planning their next album, Stereolab started building a studio north of Bordeaux, France. ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions; a compilation of BBC Radio 1 sessions was released in October. In the same year, Gane and Sadier's romantic relationship ended.
On 9 December 2002, Hansen was killed when hit by a truck while riding her bicycle. She was 36. Writer Pierre Perrone said that her "playful nature and mischievous sense of humour came through in the way she approached the backing vocals she contributed to Stereolab and the distinctive harmonies she created with Sadier." For the next few months, Stereolab lay dormant as the members grieved. They eventually decided to continue. Future album and concert reviews would mention the effects of Hansen's absence.
The EP Instant 0 in the Universe (October 2003) was recorded in France, and was Stereolab's first release following Hansen's death. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis said that the EP marked a return to their earlier, harder sound—"free from the pseudo-funk moves and avant-garde tinkering that had been inspired by Chicago producer Jim O'Rourke".
Stereolab's eighth album, Margerine Eclipse, was released on 27 January 2004 with generally positive reviews, and peaked at number 174 on the US Billboard 200. The track "Feel and Triple" was written in tribute to Hansen; Sadier said, "I was reflecting on my years with her ... reflecting on how we sometimes found it hard to express the love we had for one another." Sadier continued, "Our dedication to her on the album says, 'We will love you till the end', meaning of our lives. I'm not religious, but I feel Mary's energy is still around somewhere. It didn't just disappear." The Observers Molloy Woodcraft gave the album four out of five stars, and commented that Sadier's vocal performance as "life- and love-affirming", and the record as a whole as "Complex and catchy, bold and beatific." Kelefa Sanneh commented in Rolling Stone that Margerine Eclipse was "full of familiar noises and aimless melodies". Margerine Eclipse was Stereolab's last record to be released on American label Elektra Records, which shut down that same year. Future material would be released on Too Pure, the same label which had released some of the band's earliest material.
The group released six limited-edition singles in 2005 and 2006, which were anthologised in the 2006 compilation Fab Four Suture, and contained material which Mark Jenkins thought continued the brisker sound of the band's post-Hansen work. By June 2007, Stereolab's line-up comprised Tim Gane, Lætitia Sadier, Andy Ramsay, Simon Johns, Dominic Jeffrey, Joseph Watson, and Joseph Walters. In 2008, the band issued their next album under the label 4AD titled, Chemical Chords, which "[downplays] their arsenal of analog synths in favor of live instrumentation". The release was followed by an autumn tour in Europe, the United States and Canada.
In February 2009, they toured Australia as part of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival.
2009–2019: Hiatus and reunion
In April 2009, Stereolab manager Martin Pike announced a pause in their activities for the time being. He said that it was an opportune time for the members to move on to other projects. Not Music, a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as Chemical Chords, was released in 2010. In 2013, Gane and Sadier, who both focused on Cavern of Anti-Matter and solo work respectively, performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival held at Pontins in Camber Sands.
In February 2019, the group announced a tour of Europe and the United States to coincide with expanded, remastered reissues of several of the albums released under Warp Records. Stereolab were part of the lineup for 2019's Primavera Sound festival, taking part on the weekend of 30 May in Barcelona, Spain, and the following weekend in Porto, Portugal. It was the group's first live performance since 2009.
Musical style
Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies, and have also made use of unorthodox time signatures. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock, experimental rock, and experimental pop. Sadier remarked in 2015 that "[the band's] records were written and recorded very quickly… we would write 35 tracks, sometimes more".
The band have played on vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently features Moog synthesizers.
Lætitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning, and she would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in Wire that Sadier "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico", while some critics have commented that her vocals were unintelligible.Shea (2002), pp.53,54 Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic", as well as "sweet [and] slightly alien". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals.
In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting."
Influences
Their records have been heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that their music also had "echoes of bubblegum, of exotica, of Beach Boys and bossa nova", with their earlier work "bearing strong Velvet Underground overtones". Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations for the band. Stephan Davet of French newspaper Le Monde said that Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) had musical influences such as Burt Bacharach, and Françoise Hardy. The sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab [were] referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to the band's earlier guitar-driven style.
Live performances
Stereolab toured regularly to support their album releases. In a 1996 Washington Post gig review, Mark Jenkins wrote that Stereolab started out favouring an "easy-listening syncopation", but eventually reverted to a "messier, more urgent sound" characteristic of their earlier performances. In another review Jenkins said that the band's live songs "frequently veer[ed] into more cacophonous, guitar-dominated territory", in contrast to their albums such as Cobra and Phases Group… In the Minneapolis Star Tribune Jon Bream compared the band's live sound to feedback-driven rock bands like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Jim Harrington of The Oakland Tribune argued that "Sadier often sounded like a third percussion instrument more than a lead vocalist", further stating in regard to her switching between singing in English and French that "a Stereolab show is one of the few concerts where it's hard to find even the biggest fans mouthing along with the lyrics." Regarding being onstage, Gane has said that "I don't like to be the center of attention ... I just get into the music and am not really aware of the people there. That's my way of getting through it." Remarking of the band's 2019 reunion tour, he added that "[Stereolab] never were really a festival band… We’re not like, 'Hey, how you all doing?' and all that stuff.”
Lyrics and titles
Stereolab's music is politically and philosophically charged. Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that the group "[uses] lyrics to convey ideas while using them for the pleasurable way the words sound." Lætitia Sadier, who writes the group's lyrics, was influenced by both the Situationist philosophy Society of the Spectacle by Marxist theorist Guy Debord, and her anger towards the Iraq War. The Surrealist, as well as other Situationist cultural and political movements were also influences, as stated by Sadier and Gane in a 1999 Salon interview.
Critics have seen Marxist allusions in the band's lyrics, and have gone so far as to call the band members themselves Marxist. Music journalist Simon Reynolds commented that Sadier's lyrics tend to lean towards Marxist social commentary rather than "affairs of the heart". The 1994 single "Ping Pong" has been put forward as evidence in regard to these alleged views. In the song, Sadier sings "about capitalism's cruel cycles of slump and recovery" with lyrics that constitute "a plainspoken explanation of one of the central tenets of Marxian economic analysis" (said critics Reynolds and Stewart Mason, respectively).
Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism. In a 1999 interview, Gane stated that "none of us are Marxists ... I've never even read Marx." Gane said that although Sadier's lyrics touch on political topics, they do not cross the line into "sloganeering". Sadier also said that she had read very little Marx. In contrast, Cornelius Castoriadis, a radical political philosopher but strong critic of Marxism, has been cited as a marking influence in Sadier's thinking. The name of her side project, Monade, and its debut album title, Socialisme ou Barbarie, are also references to the work of Castoriadis.
Stereolab's album and song titles occasionally reference avant-garde groups and artists. Gane said that the title of their 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group… contains the names of two Surrealist organisations, "CoBrA" and "Phases Group", The title of the song "Brakhage" from Dots and Loops (1997), is a nod to experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Other examples are the 1992 compilation Switched On, named after Wendy Carlos' 1968 album Switched-On Bach, and the 1993 song "Jenny Ondioline", a portmanteau of inventor Georges Jenny and his instrument the Ondioline.
Legacy
Stereolab have been called one of the most "influential" and "fiercely independent and original groups of the Nineties" by writers Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Pierre Perrone respectively; as well as one of "the decade's most innovative British bands." by Mark Jenkins. Simon Reynolds commented in Rolling Stone that the group's earlier records form "an endlessly seductive body of work that sounds always the same, always different." In a review for the 1992 single "John Cage Bubblegum", Jason Ankeny said that "No other artist of its generation fused the high-minded daring of the avant-garde and the lowbrow infectiousness of pop with as much invention, skill, and appeal." In The Wire, Peter Shapiro compared the band to Britpop bands Oasis and Blur, and defended their music against the charge that it is "nothing but the sum total of its arcane reference points." They were one of the first groups to be termed post-rock—in a 1996 article, journalist Angela Lewis applied the "new term" to Stereolab and three other bands who have connections to the group. Stylistically, music journalist J. D. Considine credits the band for anticipating and driving the late 1990s revival of vintage analogue instruments among indie rock bands. Stephen Christian, a creative director of Warp Records, said that the group "exists in the gap between the experimentation of the underground and the appeal of the wider world of pop music".
The group have also received negative press. Barney Hoskyns questioned the longevity of their music in a 1996 Mojo review, saying that their records "sound more like arid experiments than music born of emotional need." In Guardian, Dave Simpson stated: "With their borrowings from early, obscure Kraftwerk and hip obtuse sources, [Stereolab] sound like a band of rock critics rather than musicians." Lætitia Sadier's vocals were cited by author Stuart Shea as often being "indecipherable".
A variety of artists, musical and otherwise, have collaborated with Stereolab. In 1995 the group teamed up with sculptor Charles Long for an interactive art show in New York City, for which Long provided the exhibits and Stereolab the music. They have released tracks by and toured with post-rock band Tortoise, while John McEntire of Tortoise has in turn worked on several Stereolab albums. In the 1990s, the group collaborated with the industrial band Nurse With Wound and released two albums together, Crumb Duck (1993) and Simple Headphone Mind (1998), and Stereolab also released "Calimero" (1998) with French avant-garde singer and poet Brigitte Fontaine. The band worked with Herbie Mann on the song "One Note Samba/Surfboard" for the 1998 AIDS-Benefit album, Red Hot + Rio, produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Stereolab alumni have also founded bands of their own. Guitarist Tim Gane founded the side project Cavern of Anti-Matter and also formed Turn on alongside band member Sean O'Hagan, who formed his own band the High Llamas. Katharine Gifford formed Snowpony with former My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe. Sadier has released three albums with her four-piece side-project Monade, whose sound Mark Jenkins called a "little more Parisian" than Stereolab's. Backing vocalist Mary Hansen formed a band named Schema with members of Hovercraft and released their eponymous EP in 2000.
As of August 1999, US album sales stood at 300,000 copies sold. Despite receiving critical acclaim and a sizeable fanbase, commercial success eluded the group. Early in their career, their 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline entered the UK Singles Chart, but financial issues prevented the band from printing enough records to satisfy demand. According to Sadier, however, the band "[avoided] going overground" like PJ Harvey, Pulp and the Cranberries, all of whom quickly rose from obscurity to fame, adding: "This kind of notoriety is not a particularly good thing, [and] you don't enjoy it anymore." When Elektra Records was closed down by Warner Bros. Records in 2004, Stereolab was dropped along with many other artists, reportedly because of poor sales. Tim Gane said in retrospect that the group "signed to Elektra because we thought we would be on there for an album or two and then we'd get ejected. We were surprised when we got to our first album!" Since then, Stereolab's self-owned label Duophonic has inked a worldwide distribution deal with independent label Too Pure. Through Duophonic, the band both licenses their music and releases it directly (depending on geographic market). Gane said, "... we license our recordings and just give them to people, then we don't have to ask for permission if we want to use it. We just want to be in control of our own music."
MembersCurrent membersTim Gane - guitar, keyboards
Lætitia Sadier - lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, trombone
Andy Ramsay - drums
Joseph Watson - keyboards, vibraphone, backing vocals
Xavier Muñoz Guimera - bass guitar, backing vocals Former membersJoe Dilworth - drums
Martin Kean - bass guitar
Gina Morris - backing vocals
Mick Conroy - keyboards
Mary Hansen - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion
Sean O'Hagan - keyboards, guitar
Duncan Brown - bass guitar
Katharine Gifford - keyboards
Morgane Lhote - keyboards
David Pajo - bass guitar
Richard Harrison - bass guitar
Simon Johns - bass guitar
Dominic Jeffery - keyboards
Joseph Walters - french horn, guitar, keyboards
Julien Gasc - keyboards, backing vocals TimelineDiscography
Stereolab released many non-LP tracks that they later anthologised as compilation albums.Studio albums Peng! (1992)
Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (1993)
Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)
Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
Dots and Loops (1997)
Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (1999)
Sound-Dust (2001)
Margerine Eclipse (2004)
Chemical Chords (2008)
Not Music (2010)Compilation albums'''
Switched On (1992)
Refried Ectoplasm: Switched On, Vol. 2 (1995)
Aluminum Tunes: Switched On, Vol. 3 (1998)
ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions (2002)
Oscillons from the Anti-Sun (2005)
Fab Four Suture (2006)
Serene Velocity: A Stereolab Anthology (2006)
Electrically Possessed: Switched On, Vol. 4'' (2021)
References
Book sources
Chart data
External links
Musical groups established in 1990
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
Musical groups reestablished in 2019
English indie rock groups
English post-rock groups
Flying Nun Records artists
Drag City (record label) artists
4AD artists
British indie pop groups
English experimental rock groups
Art pop musicians
Experimental pop musicians
Avant-pop musicians
Slumberland Records artists | false | [
"Deaf Chonky () is an Israeli folk, garage, punk rock duo. The band members are Adi Bronicki and Tami Kaminsky.\n\nEarly years\n\nThe two members of Deaf Chonky grew up in Rehovot, Israel where they met near the local bank. Their name was given to them by Kaminsky's father, and means \"Girls\" in Russian.\n\nMusical influences\nThe band's musical influences are varied, with garage-punk, Folk punk and Russian folk music as the more notable genres. In a 2016 interview, the band noted Blind Man Deaf Boy, Crass, Honey Bane and Billy Childish as their main musical influences.\n\nDiscography\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n \n\nAll-female punk bands\nGarage rock groups\nIsraeli punk rock groups\nMusical groups with year of establishment missing\nIsraeli musical duos\nFemale musical duos\nPeople from Rehovot\nRock music duos",
"Franc Moody are a musical duo from London, England. The band consists of Ned Franc and Jon Moody.\n\nTheir first album Dance Moves was released in 2018, their second album Dream In Colour was released in 2020. In 2021, an EP titled House of FM followed.\n\nMusical influences\nFranc Moody cite Daft Punk, James Brown and Jamiroquai as musical influences.\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n Dance Moves (2018)\n Dream In Colour (2020)\n\nEPs\n House of FM (2021)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nEnglish funk musical groups\nEnglish pop music groups\nMusical groups from London"
]
|
[
"Stereolab",
"Musical style",
"How has Stereolab's style been described?",
"Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies.",
"Who are their musical influences?",
"Their records are heavily influenced by the \"motorik\" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust."
]
| C_c332cd3357ba46e388acc757c1c5ab18_1 | What other styles or groups have influenced them? | 3 | Besides krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust, what other styles or groups have influenced Stereolab? | Stereolab | Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock experimental rock, and experimental pop. Their records are heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations, and the sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to their earlier guitar-driven style. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in The Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab was referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Stereolab make use of vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently feature Moog synthesizers. Laetitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning; and would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in The Wire that she "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico". Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals. In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting." CANNOTANSWER | sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. | Stereolab are an Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist movements. On stage, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. The band also draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music, and were one of the first artists to be dubbed "post-rock". They are regarded among the most innovative and influential groups of the 1990s.
Stereolab were formed by Gane (guitar and keyboards) and Sadier (vocals, keyboards and guitar) after the break-up of McCarthy. The two were romantically involved for fourteen years and are the group's only consistent members. Other longtime members include 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances.
Although Stereolab found success in the underground music scene and were influential enough to spark a renewed interest in older analogue instruments, they have never had a significant commercial impact. The band were released from their recording contract with Elektra Records due to poor record sales, and their self-owned label Duophonic signed a distribution deal with Too Pure and later Warp Records. After a ten-year hiatus, the band reunited for live performances in 2019.
History
1990–1993: Formation
In 1985, Tim Gane formed McCarthy, a band from Essex, England, known for their left-wing politics. Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France, at a 1988 McCarthy concert in Paris and the two quickly fell in love. The musically-inclined Sadier was disillusioned with the rock scene in France and soon moved to London to be with Gane and pursue her career. In 1990, after three albums, McCarthy broke up and Gane immediately formed Stereolab with Sadier (who had also contributed vocals to McCarthy's final album), ex-Chills bassist Martin Kean and Gina Morris on backing vocals. Stereolab's name was taken from a division of Vanguard Records demonstrating hi-fi effects.
Gane and Sadier, along with future band manager Martin Pike, set up a record label called Duophonic Super 45s which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic". Gane said that their "original plan" was to distribute multiple 7 and 10-inch records "–to just do one a month and keep doing them in small editions". The 10 inch vinyl EP Super 45, released in May 1991, was the first release for both Stereolab and the label, and was sold through mail order and through the Rough Trade Shop in London. Super 45s band-designed album art and packaging was the first of many customised and limited-edition Duophonic records. In a 1996 interview in The Wire, Gane calls the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic behind Duophonic "empowering", and said that by releasing one's own music "you learn; it creates more music, more ideas".
Stereolab released the EP, Super-Electric in September 1991, and a single, titled Stunning Debut Album, followed in November 1991 (which was neither debut nor album). The early material was rock and guitar-oriented; of Super-Electric, Jason Ankeny wrote in AllMusic that "Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks—not vintage synths and pointillist melodies—were their calling cards ..." Under the independent label Too Pure, the group's first full-length album, Peng! was released in May 1992. A compilation titled, Switched On, was released in October 1992 and would be part of a series of compilations that anthologise the band's more obscure material.
Around this time, the line-up consisted of Gane and Sadier plus vocalist and guitarist Mary Hansen, drummer Andy Ramsay, bassist Duncan Brown, and keyboardist Katharine Gifford. Hansen, born in Australia, had been in touch with Gane since his McCarthy days. After joining, she and Sadier developed a style of vocal counterpoint that distinguished Stereolab's sound. Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas joined as a quick replacement for their touring keyboardist, but was invited for their next record and "was allowed to make suggestions".
1993–2001: Critical recognition
Stereolab introduced easy-listening elements into their sound with the EP Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, released in March 1993. The work raised the band's profile and landed them a major-label American record deal with Elektra Records. Their first album under Elektra, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (August 1993), was an underground success in both the US and the UK. Mark Jenkins commented in Washington Post that with the album, Stereolab "continues the glorious drones of [their] indie work, giving celestial sweep to [their] garage-rock organ pumping and rhythm-guitar strumming". In the UK, the album was released on Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, which is responsible for domestic releases of Stereolab's major albums.
In January 1994, Stereolab achieved their first chart entry when the 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline, entered at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart. (Over the next three years, four more releases by the band would appear on this chart, ending with the EP Miss Modular in 1997.) Their third album, Mars Audiac Quintet, was released in August 1994. The album contains the single "Ping Pong", which gained press coverage for its explicitly Marxist lyrics. The band focused more on pop and less on rock, resulting in what AllMusic described as "what may be the group's most accessible, tightly-written album". It was the last album to feature O'Hagan as a full-time member. He would continue to make guest appearances on later releases. The group issued an EP titled Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center in April 1995. The EP was their musical contribution to an interactive art exhibit put on in collaboration with New York City artist Charles Long. Their second compilation of rarities, titled Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2), was released in July 1995.
The band's fourth album, Emperor Tomato Ketchup (March 1996), was a critical success and was played heavily on college radio. A record that "captivated alternative rock", it represented the group's "high-water mark" said music journalists Tom Moon and Joshua Klein, respectively. The album incorporated their early krautrock sound with funk, hip-hop influences and experimental instrumental arrangements. John McEntire of Tortoise also assisted with production and played on the album. Katharine Gifford was replaced by Morgane Lhote before recording, and bassist Duncan Brown by Richard Harrison after. Lhote was required to both learn the keyboards and 30 of the group's songs before joining.
Released in September 1997, Dots and Loops was their first album to enter the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 111. The album leaned towards jazz with bossa nova and 60's pop influences. Barney Hoskyns wrote in Rolling Stone that with it the group moved "ever further away from the one-chord Velvets drone-mesh of its early days" toward easy-listening and Europop. A review in German newspaper Die Zeit stated that in Dots and Loops, Stereolab transformed the harder Velvet Underground-like riffs of previous releases into "softer sounds and noisy playfulness". Contributors to the album included John McEntire and Jan St. Werner of German electropop duo Mouse on Mars. Stereolab toured for seven months and took a break when Gane and Sadier had a child. The group's third compilation of rarities, Aluminum Tunes, was issued in October 1998.
Their sixth album, Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, was released in September 1999. It was co-produced by McEntire and American producer Jim O'Rourke, and was recorded with their new bassist, Simon Johns. The album received mixed reviews for its lighter sound, and peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200. An unsigned NME review said that "this record has far more in common with bad jazz and progressive rock than any experimental art-rock tradition." In a 1999 article of Washington Post, Mark Jenkins asked Gane about the album's apparent lack of guitars; Gane responded, "There's a lot less upfront, distorted guitar ... But it's still quite guitar-based music. Every single track has a guitar on it."
Stereolab's seventh album, Sound-Dust (August 2001), rose to number 178 on the Billboard 200. The album also featured producers McEntire and O'Rourke. Sound-Dust was more warmly received than Cobra and Phases Group…. Critic Joshua Klein said that "the emphasis this time sounds less on unfocused experimentation and more on melody ... a breezy and welcome return to form for the British band." Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the album "[finds the group] deliberately recharging their creative juices" but he argued that Sound-Dust was "anchored in overly familiar territory."
2002–2008: Death of Hansen and later releases
In 2002, as they were planning their next album, Stereolab started building a studio north of Bordeaux, France. ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions; a compilation of BBC Radio 1 sessions was released in October. In the same year, Gane and Sadier's romantic relationship ended.
On 9 December 2002, Hansen was killed when hit by a truck while riding her bicycle. She was 36. Writer Pierre Perrone said that her "playful nature and mischievous sense of humour came through in the way she approached the backing vocals she contributed to Stereolab and the distinctive harmonies she created with Sadier." For the next few months, Stereolab lay dormant as the members grieved. They eventually decided to continue. Future album and concert reviews would mention the effects of Hansen's absence.
The EP Instant 0 in the Universe (October 2003) was recorded in France, and was Stereolab's first release following Hansen's death. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis said that the EP marked a return to their earlier, harder sound—"free from the pseudo-funk moves and avant-garde tinkering that had been inspired by Chicago producer Jim O'Rourke".
Stereolab's eighth album, Margerine Eclipse, was released on 27 January 2004 with generally positive reviews, and peaked at number 174 on the US Billboard 200. The track "Feel and Triple" was written in tribute to Hansen; Sadier said, "I was reflecting on my years with her ... reflecting on how we sometimes found it hard to express the love we had for one another." Sadier continued, "Our dedication to her on the album says, 'We will love you till the end', meaning of our lives. I'm not religious, but I feel Mary's energy is still around somewhere. It didn't just disappear." The Observers Molloy Woodcraft gave the album four out of five stars, and commented that Sadier's vocal performance as "life- and love-affirming", and the record as a whole as "Complex and catchy, bold and beatific." Kelefa Sanneh commented in Rolling Stone that Margerine Eclipse was "full of familiar noises and aimless melodies". Margerine Eclipse was Stereolab's last record to be released on American label Elektra Records, which shut down that same year. Future material would be released on Too Pure, the same label which had released some of the band's earliest material.
The group released six limited-edition singles in 2005 and 2006, which were anthologised in the 2006 compilation Fab Four Suture, and contained material which Mark Jenkins thought continued the brisker sound of the band's post-Hansen work. By June 2007, Stereolab's line-up comprised Tim Gane, Lætitia Sadier, Andy Ramsay, Simon Johns, Dominic Jeffrey, Joseph Watson, and Joseph Walters. In 2008, the band issued their next album under the label 4AD titled, Chemical Chords, which "[downplays] their arsenal of analog synths in favor of live instrumentation". The release was followed by an autumn tour in Europe, the United States and Canada.
In February 2009, they toured Australia as part of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival.
2009–2019: Hiatus and reunion
In April 2009, Stereolab manager Martin Pike announced a pause in their activities for the time being. He said that it was an opportune time for the members to move on to other projects. Not Music, a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as Chemical Chords, was released in 2010. In 2013, Gane and Sadier, who both focused on Cavern of Anti-Matter and solo work respectively, performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival held at Pontins in Camber Sands.
In February 2019, the group announced a tour of Europe and the United States to coincide with expanded, remastered reissues of several of the albums released under Warp Records. Stereolab were part of the lineup for 2019's Primavera Sound festival, taking part on the weekend of 30 May in Barcelona, Spain, and the following weekend in Porto, Portugal. It was the group's first live performance since 2009.
Musical style
Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies, and have also made use of unorthodox time signatures. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock, experimental rock, and experimental pop. Sadier remarked in 2015 that "[the band's] records were written and recorded very quickly… we would write 35 tracks, sometimes more".
The band have played on vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently features Moog synthesizers.
Lætitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning, and she would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in Wire that Sadier "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico", while some critics have commented that her vocals were unintelligible.Shea (2002), pp.53,54 Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic", as well as "sweet [and] slightly alien". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals.
In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting."
Influences
Their records have been heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that their music also had "echoes of bubblegum, of exotica, of Beach Boys and bossa nova", with their earlier work "bearing strong Velvet Underground overtones". Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations for the band. Stephan Davet of French newspaper Le Monde said that Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) had musical influences such as Burt Bacharach, and Françoise Hardy. The sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab [were] referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to the band's earlier guitar-driven style.
Live performances
Stereolab toured regularly to support their album releases. In a 1996 Washington Post gig review, Mark Jenkins wrote that Stereolab started out favouring an "easy-listening syncopation", but eventually reverted to a "messier, more urgent sound" characteristic of their earlier performances. In another review Jenkins said that the band's live songs "frequently veer[ed] into more cacophonous, guitar-dominated territory", in contrast to their albums such as Cobra and Phases Group… In the Minneapolis Star Tribune Jon Bream compared the band's live sound to feedback-driven rock bands like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Jim Harrington of The Oakland Tribune argued that "Sadier often sounded like a third percussion instrument more than a lead vocalist", further stating in regard to her switching between singing in English and French that "a Stereolab show is one of the few concerts where it's hard to find even the biggest fans mouthing along with the lyrics." Regarding being onstage, Gane has said that "I don't like to be the center of attention ... I just get into the music and am not really aware of the people there. That's my way of getting through it." Remarking of the band's 2019 reunion tour, he added that "[Stereolab] never were really a festival band… We’re not like, 'Hey, how you all doing?' and all that stuff.”
Lyrics and titles
Stereolab's music is politically and philosophically charged. Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that the group "[uses] lyrics to convey ideas while using them for the pleasurable way the words sound." Lætitia Sadier, who writes the group's lyrics, was influenced by both the Situationist philosophy Society of the Spectacle by Marxist theorist Guy Debord, and her anger towards the Iraq War. The Surrealist, as well as other Situationist cultural and political movements were also influences, as stated by Sadier and Gane in a 1999 Salon interview.
Critics have seen Marxist allusions in the band's lyrics, and have gone so far as to call the band members themselves Marxist. Music journalist Simon Reynolds commented that Sadier's lyrics tend to lean towards Marxist social commentary rather than "affairs of the heart". The 1994 single "Ping Pong" has been put forward as evidence in regard to these alleged views. In the song, Sadier sings "about capitalism's cruel cycles of slump and recovery" with lyrics that constitute "a plainspoken explanation of one of the central tenets of Marxian economic analysis" (said critics Reynolds and Stewart Mason, respectively).
Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism. In a 1999 interview, Gane stated that "none of us are Marxists ... I've never even read Marx." Gane said that although Sadier's lyrics touch on political topics, they do not cross the line into "sloganeering". Sadier also said that she had read very little Marx. In contrast, Cornelius Castoriadis, a radical political philosopher but strong critic of Marxism, has been cited as a marking influence in Sadier's thinking. The name of her side project, Monade, and its debut album title, Socialisme ou Barbarie, are also references to the work of Castoriadis.
Stereolab's album and song titles occasionally reference avant-garde groups and artists. Gane said that the title of their 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group… contains the names of two Surrealist organisations, "CoBrA" and "Phases Group", The title of the song "Brakhage" from Dots and Loops (1997), is a nod to experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Other examples are the 1992 compilation Switched On, named after Wendy Carlos' 1968 album Switched-On Bach, and the 1993 song "Jenny Ondioline", a portmanteau of inventor Georges Jenny and his instrument the Ondioline.
Legacy
Stereolab have been called one of the most "influential" and "fiercely independent and original groups of the Nineties" by writers Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Pierre Perrone respectively; as well as one of "the decade's most innovative British bands." by Mark Jenkins. Simon Reynolds commented in Rolling Stone that the group's earlier records form "an endlessly seductive body of work that sounds always the same, always different." In a review for the 1992 single "John Cage Bubblegum", Jason Ankeny said that "No other artist of its generation fused the high-minded daring of the avant-garde and the lowbrow infectiousness of pop with as much invention, skill, and appeal." In The Wire, Peter Shapiro compared the band to Britpop bands Oasis and Blur, and defended their music against the charge that it is "nothing but the sum total of its arcane reference points." They were one of the first groups to be termed post-rock—in a 1996 article, journalist Angela Lewis applied the "new term" to Stereolab and three other bands who have connections to the group. Stylistically, music journalist J. D. Considine credits the band for anticipating and driving the late 1990s revival of vintage analogue instruments among indie rock bands. Stephen Christian, a creative director of Warp Records, said that the group "exists in the gap between the experimentation of the underground and the appeal of the wider world of pop music".
The group have also received negative press. Barney Hoskyns questioned the longevity of their music in a 1996 Mojo review, saying that their records "sound more like arid experiments than music born of emotional need." In Guardian, Dave Simpson stated: "With their borrowings from early, obscure Kraftwerk and hip obtuse sources, [Stereolab] sound like a band of rock critics rather than musicians." Lætitia Sadier's vocals were cited by author Stuart Shea as often being "indecipherable".
A variety of artists, musical and otherwise, have collaborated with Stereolab. In 1995 the group teamed up with sculptor Charles Long for an interactive art show in New York City, for which Long provided the exhibits and Stereolab the music. They have released tracks by and toured with post-rock band Tortoise, while John McEntire of Tortoise has in turn worked on several Stereolab albums. In the 1990s, the group collaborated with the industrial band Nurse With Wound and released two albums together, Crumb Duck (1993) and Simple Headphone Mind (1998), and Stereolab also released "Calimero" (1998) with French avant-garde singer and poet Brigitte Fontaine. The band worked with Herbie Mann on the song "One Note Samba/Surfboard" for the 1998 AIDS-Benefit album, Red Hot + Rio, produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Stereolab alumni have also founded bands of their own. Guitarist Tim Gane founded the side project Cavern of Anti-Matter and also formed Turn on alongside band member Sean O'Hagan, who formed his own band the High Llamas. Katharine Gifford formed Snowpony with former My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe. Sadier has released three albums with her four-piece side-project Monade, whose sound Mark Jenkins called a "little more Parisian" than Stereolab's. Backing vocalist Mary Hansen formed a band named Schema with members of Hovercraft and released their eponymous EP in 2000.
As of August 1999, US album sales stood at 300,000 copies sold. Despite receiving critical acclaim and a sizeable fanbase, commercial success eluded the group. Early in their career, their 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline entered the UK Singles Chart, but financial issues prevented the band from printing enough records to satisfy demand. According to Sadier, however, the band "[avoided] going overground" like PJ Harvey, Pulp and the Cranberries, all of whom quickly rose from obscurity to fame, adding: "This kind of notoriety is not a particularly good thing, [and] you don't enjoy it anymore." When Elektra Records was closed down by Warner Bros. Records in 2004, Stereolab was dropped along with many other artists, reportedly because of poor sales. Tim Gane said in retrospect that the group "signed to Elektra because we thought we would be on there for an album or two and then we'd get ejected. We were surprised when we got to our first album!" Since then, Stereolab's self-owned label Duophonic has inked a worldwide distribution deal with independent label Too Pure. Through Duophonic, the band both licenses their music and releases it directly (depending on geographic market). Gane said, "... we license our recordings and just give them to people, then we don't have to ask for permission if we want to use it. We just want to be in control of our own music."
MembersCurrent membersTim Gane - guitar, keyboards
Lætitia Sadier - lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, trombone
Andy Ramsay - drums
Joseph Watson - keyboards, vibraphone, backing vocals
Xavier Muñoz Guimera - bass guitar, backing vocals Former membersJoe Dilworth - drums
Martin Kean - bass guitar
Gina Morris - backing vocals
Mick Conroy - keyboards
Mary Hansen - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion
Sean O'Hagan - keyboards, guitar
Duncan Brown - bass guitar
Katharine Gifford - keyboards
Morgane Lhote - keyboards
David Pajo - bass guitar
Richard Harrison - bass guitar
Simon Johns - bass guitar
Dominic Jeffery - keyboards
Joseph Walters - french horn, guitar, keyboards
Julien Gasc - keyboards, backing vocals TimelineDiscography
Stereolab released many non-LP tracks that they later anthologised as compilation albums.Studio albums Peng! (1992)
Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (1993)
Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)
Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
Dots and Loops (1997)
Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (1999)
Sound-Dust (2001)
Margerine Eclipse (2004)
Chemical Chords (2008)
Not Music (2010)Compilation albums'''
Switched On (1992)
Refried Ectoplasm: Switched On, Vol. 2 (1995)
Aluminum Tunes: Switched On, Vol. 3 (1998)
ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions (2002)
Oscillons from the Anti-Sun (2005)
Fab Four Suture (2006)
Serene Velocity: A Stereolab Anthology (2006)
Electrically Possessed: Switched On, Vol. 4'' (2021)
References
Book sources
Chart data
External links
Musical groups established in 1990
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
Musical groups reestablished in 2019
English indie rock groups
English post-rock groups
Flying Nun Records artists
Drag City (record label) artists
4AD artists
British indie pop groups
English experimental rock groups
Art pop musicians
Experimental pop musicians
Avant-pop musicians
Slumberland Records artists | false | [
"Similar to other cultures, ideals of beauty in African-American communities have varied throughout the years.\n\nInfluenced by the racial perspectives on beauty, lighter skin tones and straight hair have been considered desirable characteristics by different groups, including African-Americans. \n\nAt the end of the 20th century, hair styles such as the afro became popular, along with styles such as cornrows, braids, twists, box braids, the Jheri curl, and other styles.\n\nHistory\n\nReferences\n\nBeauty\nAfrican-American culture",
"Desorden Público is a ska band founded in 1985 in Caracas, Venezuela.\n\nThe band's music mixes ska, latin rock, reggae and traditional Latin music styles. The group's lyrics are known for commenting on Venezuela's and Latin America's politics and society. Influenced by the English 2 Tone movement, Desorden Público's embraces different languages and promotes racial and social tolerance. The band has a dozen or so releases to their name and have had platinum sales, No. 1 and top 10 hits. They have tours that have taken them all over Latin America, North America and Europe.\n\nDesorden Público was named Ska Artist of the Year at the Pepsi Venezuela Music Awards in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017.\n\nDiscography\n Desorden Público (CBS, 1988). LP, reedited in CD in 1993\n En Descomposición (CBS, 1990)\n Canto Popular de la vida y muerte (1994)\n Plomo Revienta (1997)\n ¿Donde está el Futuro? (1998) compilation\n Diablo (2000)\n Todos sus éxitos (Sony Music, 2001), compilation\n The Ska Album (Megalith, 2004) compilation for the United States\n DP18 En Concierto (2004)\n Estrellas del Caos (2006)\n Sex (2006)\n Los Contrarios (2011)\n En Vivo - Teatro Teresa Carreño (2013)\n Orgánico - Rarezas Acústicas Vol.1 (2014)\n Guarachando en Navidad (2014)\n Bailando sobre las ruinas (2017)\n Pa' Fuera (2017)\n\nReferences\n\nThird-wave ska groups\nVenezuelan musical groups\nVenezuelan rock music groups\nMusical groups established in 1985\n1985 establishments in Venezuela"
]
|
[
"Stereolab",
"Musical style",
"How has Stereolab's style been described?",
"Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies.",
"Who are their musical influences?",
"Their records are heavily influenced by the \"motorik\" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust.",
"What other styles or groups have influenced them?",
"sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night."
]
| C_c332cd3357ba46e388acc757c1c5ab18_1 | Any other influences? | 4 | Besides Neu!, Faust, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich, did Stereolab have any other influences? | Stereolab | Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock experimental rock, and experimental pop. Their records are heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations, and the sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to their earlier guitar-driven style. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in The Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab was referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Stereolab make use of vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently feature Moog synthesizers. Laetitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning; and would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in The Wire that she "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico". Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals. In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting." CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Stereolab are an Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist movements. On stage, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. The band also draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music, and were one of the first artists to be dubbed "post-rock". They are regarded among the most innovative and influential groups of the 1990s.
Stereolab were formed by Gane (guitar and keyboards) and Sadier (vocals, keyboards and guitar) after the break-up of McCarthy. The two were romantically involved for fourteen years and are the group's only consistent members. Other longtime members include 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances.
Although Stereolab found success in the underground music scene and were influential enough to spark a renewed interest in older analogue instruments, they have never had a significant commercial impact. The band were released from their recording contract with Elektra Records due to poor record sales, and their self-owned label Duophonic signed a distribution deal with Too Pure and later Warp Records. After a ten-year hiatus, the band reunited for live performances in 2019.
History
1990–1993: Formation
In 1985, Tim Gane formed McCarthy, a band from Essex, England, known for their left-wing politics. Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France, at a 1988 McCarthy concert in Paris and the two quickly fell in love. The musically-inclined Sadier was disillusioned with the rock scene in France and soon moved to London to be with Gane and pursue her career. In 1990, after three albums, McCarthy broke up and Gane immediately formed Stereolab with Sadier (who had also contributed vocals to McCarthy's final album), ex-Chills bassist Martin Kean and Gina Morris on backing vocals. Stereolab's name was taken from a division of Vanguard Records demonstrating hi-fi effects.
Gane and Sadier, along with future band manager Martin Pike, set up a record label called Duophonic Super 45s which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic". Gane said that their "original plan" was to distribute multiple 7 and 10-inch records "–to just do one a month and keep doing them in small editions". The 10 inch vinyl EP Super 45, released in May 1991, was the first release for both Stereolab and the label, and was sold through mail order and through the Rough Trade Shop in London. Super 45s band-designed album art and packaging was the first of many customised and limited-edition Duophonic records. In a 1996 interview in The Wire, Gane calls the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic behind Duophonic "empowering", and said that by releasing one's own music "you learn; it creates more music, more ideas".
Stereolab released the EP, Super-Electric in September 1991, and a single, titled Stunning Debut Album, followed in November 1991 (which was neither debut nor album). The early material was rock and guitar-oriented; of Super-Electric, Jason Ankeny wrote in AllMusic that "Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks—not vintage synths and pointillist melodies—were their calling cards ..." Under the independent label Too Pure, the group's first full-length album, Peng! was released in May 1992. A compilation titled, Switched On, was released in October 1992 and would be part of a series of compilations that anthologise the band's more obscure material.
Around this time, the line-up consisted of Gane and Sadier plus vocalist and guitarist Mary Hansen, drummer Andy Ramsay, bassist Duncan Brown, and keyboardist Katharine Gifford. Hansen, born in Australia, had been in touch with Gane since his McCarthy days. After joining, she and Sadier developed a style of vocal counterpoint that distinguished Stereolab's sound. Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas joined as a quick replacement for their touring keyboardist, but was invited for their next record and "was allowed to make suggestions".
1993–2001: Critical recognition
Stereolab introduced easy-listening elements into their sound with the EP Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, released in March 1993. The work raised the band's profile and landed them a major-label American record deal with Elektra Records. Their first album under Elektra, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (August 1993), was an underground success in both the US and the UK. Mark Jenkins commented in Washington Post that with the album, Stereolab "continues the glorious drones of [their] indie work, giving celestial sweep to [their] garage-rock organ pumping and rhythm-guitar strumming". In the UK, the album was released on Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, which is responsible for domestic releases of Stereolab's major albums.
In January 1994, Stereolab achieved their first chart entry when the 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline, entered at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart. (Over the next three years, four more releases by the band would appear on this chart, ending with the EP Miss Modular in 1997.) Their third album, Mars Audiac Quintet, was released in August 1994. The album contains the single "Ping Pong", which gained press coverage for its explicitly Marxist lyrics. The band focused more on pop and less on rock, resulting in what AllMusic described as "what may be the group's most accessible, tightly-written album". It was the last album to feature O'Hagan as a full-time member. He would continue to make guest appearances on later releases. The group issued an EP titled Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center in April 1995. The EP was their musical contribution to an interactive art exhibit put on in collaboration with New York City artist Charles Long. Their second compilation of rarities, titled Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2), was released in July 1995.
The band's fourth album, Emperor Tomato Ketchup (March 1996), was a critical success and was played heavily on college radio. A record that "captivated alternative rock", it represented the group's "high-water mark" said music journalists Tom Moon and Joshua Klein, respectively. The album incorporated their early krautrock sound with funk, hip-hop influences and experimental instrumental arrangements. John McEntire of Tortoise also assisted with production and played on the album. Katharine Gifford was replaced by Morgane Lhote before recording, and bassist Duncan Brown by Richard Harrison after. Lhote was required to both learn the keyboards and 30 of the group's songs before joining.
Released in September 1997, Dots and Loops was their first album to enter the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 111. The album leaned towards jazz with bossa nova and 60's pop influences. Barney Hoskyns wrote in Rolling Stone that with it the group moved "ever further away from the one-chord Velvets drone-mesh of its early days" toward easy-listening and Europop. A review in German newspaper Die Zeit stated that in Dots and Loops, Stereolab transformed the harder Velvet Underground-like riffs of previous releases into "softer sounds and noisy playfulness". Contributors to the album included John McEntire and Jan St. Werner of German electropop duo Mouse on Mars. Stereolab toured for seven months and took a break when Gane and Sadier had a child. The group's third compilation of rarities, Aluminum Tunes, was issued in October 1998.
Their sixth album, Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, was released in September 1999. It was co-produced by McEntire and American producer Jim O'Rourke, and was recorded with their new bassist, Simon Johns. The album received mixed reviews for its lighter sound, and peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200. An unsigned NME review said that "this record has far more in common with bad jazz and progressive rock than any experimental art-rock tradition." In a 1999 article of Washington Post, Mark Jenkins asked Gane about the album's apparent lack of guitars; Gane responded, "There's a lot less upfront, distorted guitar ... But it's still quite guitar-based music. Every single track has a guitar on it."
Stereolab's seventh album, Sound-Dust (August 2001), rose to number 178 on the Billboard 200. The album also featured producers McEntire and O'Rourke. Sound-Dust was more warmly received than Cobra and Phases Group…. Critic Joshua Klein said that "the emphasis this time sounds less on unfocused experimentation and more on melody ... a breezy and welcome return to form for the British band." Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the album "[finds the group] deliberately recharging their creative juices" but he argued that Sound-Dust was "anchored in overly familiar territory."
2002–2008: Death of Hansen and later releases
In 2002, as they were planning their next album, Stereolab started building a studio north of Bordeaux, France. ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions; a compilation of BBC Radio 1 sessions was released in October. In the same year, Gane and Sadier's romantic relationship ended.
On 9 December 2002, Hansen was killed when hit by a truck while riding her bicycle. She was 36. Writer Pierre Perrone said that her "playful nature and mischievous sense of humour came through in the way she approached the backing vocals she contributed to Stereolab and the distinctive harmonies she created with Sadier." For the next few months, Stereolab lay dormant as the members grieved. They eventually decided to continue. Future album and concert reviews would mention the effects of Hansen's absence.
The EP Instant 0 in the Universe (October 2003) was recorded in France, and was Stereolab's first release following Hansen's death. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis said that the EP marked a return to their earlier, harder sound—"free from the pseudo-funk moves and avant-garde tinkering that had been inspired by Chicago producer Jim O'Rourke".
Stereolab's eighth album, Margerine Eclipse, was released on 27 January 2004 with generally positive reviews, and peaked at number 174 on the US Billboard 200. The track "Feel and Triple" was written in tribute to Hansen; Sadier said, "I was reflecting on my years with her ... reflecting on how we sometimes found it hard to express the love we had for one another." Sadier continued, "Our dedication to her on the album says, 'We will love you till the end', meaning of our lives. I'm not religious, but I feel Mary's energy is still around somewhere. It didn't just disappear." The Observers Molloy Woodcraft gave the album four out of five stars, and commented that Sadier's vocal performance as "life- and love-affirming", and the record as a whole as "Complex and catchy, bold and beatific." Kelefa Sanneh commented in Rolling Stone that Margerine Eclipse was "full of familiar noises and aimless melodies". Margerine Eclipse was Stereolab's last record to be released on American label Elektra Records, which shut down that same year. Future material would be released on Too Pure, the same label which had released some of the band's earliest material.
The group released six limited-edition singles in 2005 and 2006, which were anthologised in the 2006 compilation Fab Four Suture, and contained material which Mark Jenkins thought continued the brisker sound of the band's post-Hansen work. By June 2007, Stereolab's line-up comprised Tim Gane, Lætitia Sadier, Andy Ramsay, Simon Johns, Dominic Jeffrey, Joseph Watson, and Joseph Walters. In 2008, the band issued their next album under the label 4AD titled, Chemical Chords, which "[downplays] their arsenal of analog synths in favor of live instrumentation". The release was followed by an autumn tour in Europe, the United States and Canada.
In February 2009, they toured Australia as part of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival.
2009–2019: Hiatus and reunion
In April 2009, Stereolab manager Martin Pike announced a pause in their activities for the time being. He said that it was an opportune time for the members to move on to other projects. Not Music, a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as Chemical Chords, was released in 2010. In 2013, Gane and Sadier, who both focused on Cavern of Anti-Matter and solo work respectively, performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival held at Pontins in Camber Sands.
In February 2019, the group announced a tour of Europe and the United States to coincide with expanded, remastered reissues of several of the albums released under Warp Records. Stereolab were part of the lineup for 2019's Primavera Sound festival, taking part on the weekend of 30 May in Barcelona, Spain, and the following weekend in Porto, Portugal. It was the group's first live performance since 2009.
Musical style
Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies, and have also made use of unorthodox time signatures. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock, experimental rock, and experimental pop. Sadier remarked in 2015 that "[the band's] records were written and recorded very quickly… we would write 35 tracks, sometimes more".
The band have played on vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently features Moog synthesizers.
Lætitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning, and she would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in Wire that Sadier "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico", while some critics have commented that her vocals were unintelligible.Shea (2002), pp.53,54 Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic", as well as "sweet [and] slightly alien". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals.
In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting."
Influences
Their records have been heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that their music also had "echoes of bubblegum, of exotica, of Beach Boys and bossa nova", with their earlier work "bearing strong Velvet Underground overtones". Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations for the band. Stephan Davet of French newspaper Le Monde said that Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) had musical influences such as Burt Bacharach, and Françoise Hardy. The sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab [were] referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to the band's earlier guitar-driven style.
Live performances
Stereolab toured regularly to support their album releases. In a 1996 Washington Post gig review, Mark Jenkins wrote that Stereolab started out favouring an "easy-listening syncopation", but eventually reverted to a "messier, more urgent sound" characteristic of their earlier performances. In another review Jenkins said that the band's live songs "frequently veer[ed] into more cacophonous, guitar-dominated territory", in contrast to their albums such as Cobra and Phases Group… In the Minneapolis Star Tribune Jon Bream compared the band's live sound to feedback-driven rock bands like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Jim Harrington of The Oakland Tribune argued that "Sadier often sounded like a third percussion instrument more than a lead vocalist", further stating in regard to her switching between singing in English and French that "a Stereolab show is one of the few concerts where it's hard to find even the biggest fans mouthing along with the lyrics." Regarding being onstage, Gane has said that "I don't like to be the center of attention ... I just get into the music and am not really aware of the people there. That's my way of getting through it." Remarking of the band's 2019 reunion tour, he added that "[Stereolab] never were really a festival band… We’re not like, 'Hey, how you all doing?' and all that stuff.”
Lyrics and titles
Stereolab's music is politically and philosophically charged. Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that the group "[uses] lyrics to convey ideas while using them for the pleasurable way the words sound." Lætitia Sadier, who writes the group's lyrics, was influenced by both the Situationist philosophy Society of the Spectacle by Marxist theorist Guy Debord, and her anger towards the Iraq War. The Surrealist, as well as other Situationist cultural and political movements were also influences, as stated by Sadier and Gane in a 1999 Salon interview.
Critics have seen Marxist allusions in the band's lyrics, and have gone so far as to call the band members themselves Marxist. Music journalist Simon Reynolds commented that Sadier's lyrics tend to lean towards Marxist social commentary rather than "affairs of the heart". The 1994 single "Ping Pong" has been put forward as evidence in regard to these alleged views. In the song, Sadier sings "about capitalism's cruel cycles of slump and recovery" with lyrics that constitute "a plainspoken explanation of one of the central tenets of Marxian economic analysis" (said critics Reynolds and Stewart Mason, respectively).
Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism. In a 1999 interview, Gane stated that "none of us are Marxists ... I've never even read Marx." Gane said that although Sadier's lyrics touch on political topics, they do not cross the line into "sloganeering". Sadier also said that she had read very little Marx. In contrast, Cornelius Castoriadis, a radical political philosopher but strong critic of Marxism, has been cited as a marking influence in Sadier's thinking. The name of her side project, Monade, and its debut album title, Socialisme ou Barbarie, are also references to the work of Castoriadis.
Stereolab's album and song titles occasionally reference avant-garde groups and artists. Gane said that the title of their 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group… contains the names of two Surrealist organisations, "CoBrA" and "Phases Group", The title of the song "Brakhage" from Dots and Loops (1997), is a nod to experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Other examples are the 1992 compilation Switched On, named after Wendy Carlos' 1968 album Switched-On Bach, and the 1993 song "Jenny Ondioline", a portmanteau of inventor Georges Jenny and his instrument the Ondioline.
Legacy
Stereolab have been called one of the most "influential" and "fiercely independent and original groups of the Nineties" by writers Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Pierre Perrone respectively; as well as one of "the decade's most innovative British bands." by Mark Jenkins. Simon Reynolds commented in Rolling Stone that the group's earlier records form "an endlessly seductive body of work that sounds always the same, always different." In a review for the 1992 single "John Cage Bubblegum", Jason Ankeny said that "No other artist of its generation fused the high-minded daring of the avant-garde and the lowbrow infectiousness of pop with as much invention, skill, and appeal." In The Wire, Peter Shapiro compared the band to Britpop bands Oasis and Blur, and defended their music against the charge that it is "nothing but the sum total of its arcane reference points." They were one of the first groups to be termed post-rock—in a 1996 article, journalist Angela Lewis applied the "new term" to Stereolab and three other bands who have connections to the group. Stylistically, music journalist J. D. Considine credits the band for anticipating and driving the late 1990s revival of vintage analogue instruments among indie rock bands. Stephen Christian, a creative director of Warp Records, said that the group "exists in the gap between the experimentation of the underground and the appeal of the wider world of pop music".
The group have also received negative press. Barney Hoskyns questioned the longevity of their music in a 1996 Mojo review, saying that their records "sound more like arid experiments than music born of emotional need." In Guardian, Dave Simpson stated: "With their borrowings from early, obscure Kraftwerk and hip obtuse sources, [Stereolab] sound like a band of rock critics rather than musicians." Lætitia Sadier's vocals were cited by author Stuart Shea as often being "indecipherable".
A variety of artists, musical and otherwise, have collaborated with Stereolab. In 1995 the group teamed up with sculptor Charles Long for an interactive art show in New York City, for which Long provided the exhibits and Stereolab the music. They have released tracks by and toured with post-rock band Tortoise, while John McEntire of Tortoise has in turn worked on several Stereolab albums. In the 1990s, the group collaborated with the industrial band Nurse With Wound and released two albums together, Crumb Duck (1993) and Simple Headphone Mind (1998), and Stereolab also released "Calimero" (1998) with French avant-garde singer and poet Brigitte Fontaine. The band worked with Herbie Mann on the song "One Note Samba/Surfboard" for the 1998 AIDS-Benefit album, Red Hot + Rio, produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Stereolab alumni have also founded bands of their own. Guitarist Tim Gane founded the side project Cavern of Anti-Matter and also formed Turn on alongside band member Sean O'Hagan, who formed his own band the High Llamas. Katharine Gifford formed Snowpony with former My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe. Sadier has released three albums with her four-piece side-project Monade, whose sound Mark Jenkins called a "little more Parisian" than Stereolab's. Backing vocalist Mary Hansen formed a band named Schema with members of Hovercraft and released their eponymous EP in 2000.
As of August 1999, US album sales stood at 300,000 copies sold. Despite receiving critical acclaim and a sizeable fanbase, commercial success eluded the group. Early in their career, their 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline entered the UK Singles Chart, but financial issues prevented the band from printing enough records to satisfy demand. According to Sadier, however, the band "[avoided] going overground" like PJ Harvey, Pulp and the Cranberries, all of whom quickly rose from obscurity to fame, adding: "This kind of notoriety is not a particularly good thing, [and] you don't enjoy it anymore." When Elektra Records was closed down by Warner Bros. Records in 2004, Stereolab was dropped along with many other artists, reportedly because of poor sales. Tim Gane said in retrospect that the group "signed to Elektra because we thought we would be on there for an album or two and then we'd get ejected. We were surprised when we got to our first album!" Since then, Stereolab's self-owned label Duophonic has inked a worldwide distribution deal with independent label Too Pure. Through Duophonic, the band both licenses their music and releases it directly (depending on geographic market). Gane said, "... we license our recordings and just give them to people, then we don't have to ask for permission if we want to use it. We just want to be in control of our own music."
MembersCurrent membersTim Gane - guitar, keyboards
Lætitia Sadier - lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, trombone
Andy Ramsay - drums
Joseph Watson - keyboards, vibraphone, backing vocals
Xavier Muñoz Guimera - bass guitar, backing vocals Former membersJoe Dilworth - drums
Martin Kean - bass guitar
Gina Morris - backing vocals
Mick Conroy - keyboards
Mary Hansen - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion
Sean O'Hagan - keyboards, guitar
Duncan Brown - bass guitar
Katharine Gifford - keyboards
Morgane Lhote - keyboards
David Pajo - bass guitar
Richard Harrison - bass guitar
Simon Johns - bass guitar
Dominic Jeffery - keyboards
Joseph Walters - french horn, guitar, keyboards
Julien Gasc - keyboards, backing vocals TimelineDiscography
Stereolab released many non-LP tracks that they later anthologised as compilation albums.Studio albums Peng! (1992)
Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (1993)
Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)
Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
Dots and Loops (1997)
Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (1999)
Sound-Dust (2001)
Margerine Eclipse (2004)
Chemical Chords (2008)
Not Music (2010)Compilation albums'''
Switched On (1992)
Refried Ectoplasm: Switched On, Vol. 2 (1995)
Aluminum Tunes: Switched On, Vol. 3 (1998)
ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions (2002)
Oscillons from the Anti-Sun (2005)
Fab Four Suture (2006)
Serene Velocity: A Stereolab Anthology (2006)
Electrically Possessed: Switched On, Vol. 4'' (2021)
References
Book sources
Chart data
External links
Musical groups established in 1990
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
Musical groups reestablished in 2019
English indie rock groups
English post-rock groups
Flying Nun Records artists
Drag City (record label) artists
4AD artists
British indie pop groups
English experimental rock groups
Art pop musicians
Experimental pop musicians
Avant-pop musicians
Slumberland Records artists | false | [
"The Gurus were an American psychedelic rock band from the 1960s. They were among the first to incorporate Middle Eastern influences, maybe more than any other band of that era. The band broke up without making a large impact on the music scene of the time, although they did release two singles on United Artists Records in 1966 and 1967. Their album, The Gurus Are Hear, failed to be released in 1967, which was noted as the reason for the band splitting up.\n\nThe album was finally released in 2003.\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican psychedelic rock music groups",
"An operational context (OLC) for an operation is the external environment that influences its operation. For a mobile application, the OLC is defined by the combined hardware/firmware/software configurarions of several appliances or devices, as well as the bearer of the mobiles of these units and other work position environment this person as the key stakeholder makes use of in timely, spatial and modal coincidence. \n\nThis concept differs from the operating context and does not address the operating system of computers.\n\nExample \n\nThe classic example is defined by the electronic leash configuration, where one mobile appliance is wirelessly tethered to another such appliance. The function of this electronic leash is to set an aural alarm with any of these two in case of unintentional leaving one of these two behind.\n\nImplementing the example \n\nSeveral suppliers offer the electronic leash solution. A new aspect has been launched with Bluetooth low energy for better economised battery life cycle. Special trimming serves for two years operation from a button cell.\n\nReferences\n\nSee also\n Context\n Operating context, the external environment that influences an operation;\n Unilateration\n\nWireless networking"
]
|
[
"Stereolab",
"Musical style",
"How has Stereolab's style been described?",
"Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies.",
"Who are their musical influences?",
"Their records are heavily influenced by the \"motorik\" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust.",
"What other styles or groups have influenced them?",
"sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night.",
"Any other influences?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_c332cd3357ba46e388acc757c1c5ab18_1 | Have they collaborated with any notable musicians? | 5 | Have Stereolab collaborated with any notable musicians? | Stereolab | Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock experimental rock, and experimental pop. Their records are heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations, and the sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to their earlier guitar-driven style. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in The Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab was referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Stereolab make use of vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently feature Moog synthesizers. Laetitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning; and would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in The Wire that she "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico". Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals. In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting." CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Stereolab are an Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist movements. On stage, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. The band also draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music, and were one of the first artists to be dubbed "post-rock". They are regarded among the most innovative and influential groups of the 1990s.
Stereolab were formed by Gane (guitar and keyboards) and Sadier (vocals, keyboards and guitar) after the break-up of McCarthy. The two were romantically involved for fourteen years and are the group's only consistent members. Other longtime members include 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances.
Although Stereolab found success in the underground music scene and were influential enough to spark a renewed interest in older analogue instruments, they have never had a significant commercial impact. The band were released from their recording contract with Elektra Records due to poor record sales, and their self-owned label Duophonic signed a distribution deal with Too Pure and later Warp Records. After a ten-year hiatus, the band reunited for live performances in 2019.
History
1990–1993: Formation
In 1985, Tim Gane formed McCarthy, a band from Essex, England, known for their left-wing politics. Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France, at a 1988 McCarthy concert in Paris and the two quickly fell in love. The musically-inclined Sadier was disillusioned with the rock scene in France and soon moved to London to be with Gane and pursue her career. In 1990, after three albums, McCarthy broke up and Gane immediately formed Stereolab with Sadier (who had also contributed vocals to McCarthy's final album), ex-Chills bassist Martin Kean and Gina Morris on backing vocals. Stereolab's name was taken from a division of Vanguard Records demonstrating hi-fi effects.
Gane and Sadier, along with future band manager Martin Pike, set up a record label called Duophonic Super 45s which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic". Gane said that their "original plan" was to distribute multiple 7 and 10-inch records "–to just do one a month and keep doing them in small editions". The 10 inch vinyl EP Super 45, released in May 1991, was the first release for both Stereolab and the label, and was sold through mail order and through the Rough Trade Shop in London. Super 45s band-designed album art and packaging was the first of many customised and limited-edition Duophonic records. In a 1996 interview in The Wire, Gane calls the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic behind Duophonic "empowering", and said that by releasing one's own music "you learn; it creates more music, more ideas".
Stereolab released the EP, Super-Electric in September 1991, and a single, titled Stunning Debut Album, followed in November 1991 (which was neither debut nor album). The early material was rock and guitar-oriented; of Super-Electric, Jason Ankeny wrote in AllMusic that "Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks—not vintage synths and pointillist melodies—were their calling cards ..." Under the independent label Too Pure, the group's first full-length album, Peng! was released in May 1992. A compilation titled, Switched On, was released in October 1992 and would be part of a series of compilations that anthologise the band's more obscure material.
Around this time, the line-up consisted of Gane and Sadier plus vocalist and guitarist Mary Hansen, drummer Andy Ramsay, bassist Duncan Brown, and keyboardist Katharine Gifford. Hansen, born in Australia, had been in touch with Gane since his McCarthy days. After joining, she and Sadier developed a style of vocal counterpoint that distinguished Stereolab's sound. Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas joined as a quick replacement for their touring keyboardist, but was invited for their next record and "was allowed to make suggestions".
1993–2001: Critical recognition
Stereolab introduced easy-listening elements into their sound with the EP Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, released in March 1993. The work raised the band's profile and landed them a major-label American record deal with Elektra Records. Their first album under Elektra, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (August 1993), was an underground success in both the US and the UK. Mark Jenkins commented in Washington Post that with the album, Stereolab "continues the glorious drones of [their] indie work, giving celestial sweep to [their] garage-rock organ pumping and rhythm-guitar strumming". In the UK, the album was released on Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, which is responsible for domestic releases of Stereolab's major albums.
In January 1994, Stereolab achieved their first chart entry when the 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline, entered at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart. (Over the next three years, four more releases by the band would appear on this chart, ending with the EP Miss Modular in 1997.) Their third album, Mars Audiac Quintet, was released in August 1994. The album contains the single "Ping Pong", which gained press coverage for its explicitly Marxist lyrics. The band focused more on pop and less on rock, resulting in what AllMusic described as "what may be the group's most accessible, tightly-written album". It was the last album to feature O'Hagan as a full-time member. He would continue to make guest appearances on later releases. The group issued an EP titled Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center in April 1995. The EP was their musical contribution to an interactive art exhibit put on in collaboration with New York City artist Charles Long. Their second compilation of rarities, titled Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2), was released in July 1995.
The band's fourth album, Emperor Tomato Ketchup (March 1996), was a critical success and was played heavily on college radio. A record that "captivated alternative rock", it represented the group's "high-water mark" said music journalists Tom Moon and Joshua Klein, respectively. The album incorporated their early krautrock sound with funk, hip-hop influences and experimental instrumental arrangements. John McEntire of Tortoise also assisted with production and played on the album. Katharine Gifford was replaced by Morgane Lhote before recording, and bassist Duncan Brown by Richard Harrison after. Lhote was required to both learn the keyboards and 30 of the group's songs before joining.
Released in September 1997, Dots and Loops was their first album to enter the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 111. The album leaned towards jazz with bossa nova and 60's pop influences. Barney Hoskyns wrote in Rolling Stone that with it the group moved "ever further away from the one-chord Velvets drone-mesh of its early days" toward easy-listening and Europop. A review in German newspaper Die Zeit stated that in Dots and Loops, Stereolab transformed the harder Velvet Underground-like riffs of previous releases into "softer sounds and noisy playfulness". Contributors to the album included John McEntire and Jan St. Werner of German electropop duo Mouse on Mars. Stereolab toured for seven months and took a break when Gane and Sadier had a child. The group's third compilation of rarities, Aluminum Tunes, was issued in October 1998.
Their sixth album, Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, was released in September 1999. It was co-produced by McEntire and American producer Jim O'Rourke, and was recorded with their new bassist, Simon Johns. The album received mixed reviews for its lighter sound, and peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200. An unsigned NME review said that "this record has far more in common with bad jazz and progressive rock than any experimental art-rock tradition." In a 1999 article of Washington Post, Mark Jenkins asked Gane about the album's apparent lack of guitars; Gane responded, "There's a lot less upfront, distorted guitar ... But it's still quite guitar-based music. Every single track has a guitar on it."
Stereolab's seventh album, Sound-Dust (August 2001), rose to number 178 on the Billboard 200. The album also featured producers McEntire and O'Rourke. Sound-Dust was more warmly received than Cobra and Phases Group…. Critic Joshua Klein said that "the emphasis this time sounds less on unfocused experimentation and more on melody ... a breezy and welcome return to form for the British band." Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the album "[finds the group] deliberately recharging their creative juices" but he argued that Sound-Dust was "anchored in overly familiar territory."
2002–2008: Death of Hansen and later releases
In 2002, as they were planning their next album, Stereolab started building a studio north of Bordeaux, France. ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions; a compilation of BBC Radio 1 sessions was released in October. In the same year, Gane and Sadier's romantic relationship ended.
On 9 December 2002, Hansen was killed when hit by a truck while riding her bicycle. She was 36. Writer Pierre Perrone said that her "playful nature and mischievous sense of humour came through in the way she approached the backing vocals she contributed to Stereolab and the distinctive harmonies she created with Sadier." For the next few months, Stereolab lay dormant as the members grieved. They eventually decided to continue. Future album and concert reviews would mention the effects of Hansen's absence.
The EP Instant 0 in the Universe (October 2003) was recorded in France, and was Stereolab's first release following Hansen's death. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis said that the EP marked a return to their earlier, harder sound—"free from the pseudo-funk moves and avant-garde tinkering that had been inspired by Chicago producer Jim O'Rourke".
Stereolab's eighth album, Margerine Eclipse, was released on 27 January 2004 with generally positive reviews, and peaked at number 174 on the US Billboard 200. The track "Feel and Triple" was written in tribute to Hansen; Sadier said, "I was reflecting on my years with her ... reflecting on how we sometimes found it hard to express the love we had for one another." Sadier continued, "Our dedication to her on the album says, 'We will love you till the end', meaning of our lives. I'm not religious, but I feel Mary's energy is still around somewhere. It didn't just disappear." The Observers Molloy Woodcraft gave the album four out of five stars, and commented that Sadier's vocal performance as "life- and love-affirming", and the record as a whole as "Complex and catchy, bold and beatific." Kelefa Sanneh commented in Rolling Stone that Margerine Eclipse was "full of familiar noises and aimless melodies". Margerine Eclipse was Stereolab's last record to be released on American label Elektra Records, which shut down that same year. Future material would be released on Too Pure, the same label which had released some of the band's earliest material.
The group released six limited-edition singles in 2005 and 2006, which were anthologised in the 2006 compilation Fab Four Suture, and contained material which Mark Jenkins thought continued the brisker sound of the band's post-Hansen work. By June 2007, Stereolab's line-up comprised Tim Gane, Lætitia Sadier, Andy Ramsay, Simon Johns, Dominic Jeffrey, Joseph Watson, and Joseph Walters. In 2008, the band issued their next album under the label 4AD titled, Chemical Chords, which "[downplays] their arsenal of analog synths in favor of live instrumentation". The release was followed by an autumn tour in Europe, the United States and Canada.
In February 2009, they toured Australia as part of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival.
2009–2019: Hiatus and reunion
In April 2009, Stereolab manager Martin Pike announced a pause in their activities for the time being. He said that it was an opportune time for the members to move on to other projects. Not Music, a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as Chemical Chords, was released in 2010. In 2013, Gane and Sadier, who both focused on Cavern of Anti-Matter and solo work respectively, performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival held at Pontins in Camber Sands.
In February 2019, the group announced a tour of Europe and the United States to coincide with expanded, remastered reissues of several of the albums released under Warp Records. Stereolab were part of the lineup for 2019's Primavera Sound festival, taking part on the weekend of 30 May in Barcelona, Spain, and the following weekend in Porto, Portugal. It was the group's first live performance since 2009.
Musical style
Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies, and have also made use of unorthodox time signatures. It has been generally described as avant-pop, indie pop, art pop, indie electronic, indie rock, post-rock, experimental rock, and experimental pop. Sadier remarked in 2015 that "[the band's] records were written and recorded very quickly… we would write 35 tracks, sometimes more".
The band have played on vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog. Gane has praised the instruments for their versatility: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently features Moog synthesizers.
Lætitia Sadier's English and French vocals was a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning, and she would occasionally sing wordlessly along with the music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in Wire that Sadier "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico", while some critics have commented that her vocals were unintelligible.Shea (2002), pp.53,54 Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic", as well as "sweet [and] slightly alien". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals.
In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting."
Influences
Their records have been heavily influenced by the "motorik" technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust. Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones, but in a very pop way." Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that their music also had "echoes of bubblegum, of exotica, of Beach Boys and bossa nova", with their earlier work "bearing strong Velvet Underground overtones". Funk, jazz, and Brazilian music were additional inspirations for the band. Stephan Davet of French newspaper Le Monde said that Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) had musical influences such as Burt Bacharach, and Françoise Hardy. The sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s. Joshua Klein in Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab [were] referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to the band's earlier guitar-driven style.
Live performances
Stereolab toured regularly to support their album releases. In a 1996 Washington Post gig review, Mark Jenkins wrote that Stereolab started out favouring an "easy-listening syncopation", but eventually reverted to a "messier, more urgent sound" characteristic of their earlier performances. In another review Jenkins said that the band's live songs "frequently veer[ed] into more cacophonous, guitar-dominated territory", in contrast to their albums such as Cobra and Phases Group… In the Minneapolis Star Tribune Jon Bream compared the band's live sound to feedback-driven rock bands like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Jim Harrington of The Oakland Tribune argued that "Sadier often sounded like a third percussion instrument more than a lead vocalist", further stating in regard to her switching between singing in English and French that "a Stereolab show is one of the few concerts where it's hard to find even the biggest fans mouthing along with the lyrics." Regarding being onstage, Gane has said that "I don't like to be the center of attention ... I just get into the music and am not really aware of the people there. That's my way of getting through it." Remarking of the band's 2019 reunion tour, he added that "[Stereolab] never were really a festival band… We’re not like, 'Hey, how you all doing?' and all that stuff.”
Lyrics and titles
Stereolab's music is politically and philosophically charged. Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that the group "[uses] lyrics to convey ideas while using them for the pleasurable way the words sound." Lætitia Sadier, who writes the group's lyrics, was influenced by both the Situationist philosophy Society of the Spectacle by Marxist theorist Guy Debord, and her anger towards the Iraq War. The Surrealist, as well as other Situationist cultural and political movements were also influences, as stated by Sadier and Gane in a 1999 Salon interview.
Critics have seen Marxist allusions in the band's lyrics, and have gone so far as to call the band members themselves Marxist. Music journalist Simon Reynolds commented that Sadier's lyrics tend to lean towards Marxist social commentary rather than "affairs of the heart". The 1994 single "Ping Pong" has been put forward as evidence in regard to these alleged views. In the song, Sadier sings "about capitalism's cruel cycles of slump and recovery" with lyrics that constitute "a plainspoken explanation of one of the central tenets of Marxian economic analysis" (said critics Reynolds and Stewart Mason, respectively).
Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism. In a 1999 interview, Gane stated that "none of us are Marxists ... I've never even read Marx." Gane said that although Sadier's lyrics touch on political topics, they do not cross the line into "sloganeering". Sadier also said that she had read very little Marx. In contrast, Cornelius Castoriadis, a radical political philosopher but strong critic of Marxism, has been cited as a marking influence in Sadier's thinking. The name of her side project, Monade, and its debut album title, Socialisme ou Barbarie, are also references to the work of Castoriadis.
Stereolab's album and song titles occasionally reference avant-garde groups and artists. Gane said that the title of their 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group… contains the names of two Surrealist organisations, "CoBrA" and "Phases Group", The title of the song "Brakhage" from Dots and Loops (1997), is a nod to experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Other examples are the 1992 compilation Switched On, named after Wendy Carlos' 1968 album Switched-On Bach, and the 1993 song "Jenny Ondioline", a portmanteau of inventor Georges Jenny and his instrument the Ondioline.
Legacy
Stereolab have been called one of the most "influential" and "fiercely independent and original groups of the Nineties" by writers Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Pierre Perrone respectively; as well as one of "the decade's most innovative British bands." by Mark Jenkins. Simon Reynolds commented in Rolling Stone that the group's earlier records form "an endlessly seductive body of work that sounds always the same, always different." In a review for the 1992 single "John Cage Bubblegum", Jason Ankeny said that "No other artist of its generation fused the high-minded daring of the avant-garde and the lowbrow infectiousness of pop with as much invention, skill, and appeal." In The Wire, Peter Shapiro compared the band to Britpop bands Oasis and Blur, and defended their music against the charge that it is "nothing but the sum total of its arcane reference points." They were one of the first groups to be termed post-rock—in a 1996 article, journalist Angela Lewis applied the "new term" to Stereolab and three other bands who have connections to the group. Stylistically, music journalist J. D. Considine credits the band for anticipating and driving the late 1990s revival of vintage analogue instruments among indie rock bands. Stephen Christian, a creative director of Warp Records, said that the group "exists in the gap between the experimentation of the underground and the appeal of the wider world of pop music".
The group have also received negative press. Barney Hoskyns questioned the longevity of their music in a 1996 Mojo review, saying that their records "sound more like arid experiments than music born of emotional need." In Guardian, Dave Simpson stated: "With their borrowings from early, obscure Kraftwerk and hip obtuse sources, [Stereolab] sound like a band of rock critics rather than musicians." Lætitia Sadier's vocals were cited by author Stuart Shea as often being "indecipherable".
A variety of artists, musical and otherwise, have collaborated with Stereolab. In 1995 the group teamed up with sculptor Charles Long for an interactive art show in New York City, for which Long provided the exhibits and Stereolab the music. They have released tracks by and toured with post-rock band Tortoise, while John McEntire of Tortoise has in turn worked on several Stereolab albums. In the 1990s, the group collaborated with the industrial band Nurse With Wound and released two albums together, Crumb Duck (1993) and Simple Headphone Mind (1998), and Stereolab also released "Calimero" (1998) with French avant-garde singer and poet Brigitte Fontaine. The band worked with Herbie Mann on the song "One Note Samba/Surfboard" for the 1998 AIDS-Benefit album, Red Hot + Rio, produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Stereolab alumni have also founded bands of their own. Guitarist Tim Gane founded the side project Cavern of Anti-Matter and also formed Turn on alongside band member Sean O'Hagan, who formed his own band the High Llamas. Katharine Gifford formed Snowpony with former My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe. Sadier has released three albums with her four-piece side-project Monade, whose sound Mark Jenkins called a "little more Parisian" than Stereolab's. Backing vocalist Mary Hansen formed a band named Schema with members of Hovercraft and released their eponymous EP in 2000.
As of August 1999, US album sales stood at 300,000 copies sold. Despite receiving critical acclaim and a sizeable fanbase, commercial success eluded the group. Early in their career, their 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline entered the UK Singles Chart, but financial issues prevented the band from printing enough records to satisfy demand. According to Sadier, however, the band "[avoided] going overground" like PJ Harvey, Pulp and the Cranberries, all of whom quickly rose from obscurity to fame, adding: "This kind of notoriety is not a particularly good thing, [and] you don't enjoy it anymore." When Elektra Records was closed down by Warner Bros. Records in 2004, Stereolab was dropped along with many other artists, reportedly because of poor sales. Tim Gane said in retrospect that the group "signed to Elektra because we thought we would be on there for an album or two and then we'd get ejected. We were surprised when we got to our first album!" Since then, Stereolab's self-owned label Duophonic has inked a worldwide distribution deal with independent label Too Pure. Through Duophonic, the band both licenses their music and releases it directly (depending on geographic market). Gane said, "... we license our recordings and just give them to people, then we don't have to ask for permission if we want to use it. We just want to be in control of our own music."
MembersCurrent membersTim Gane - guitar, keyboards
Lætitia Sadier - lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, trombone
Andy Ramsay - drums
Joseph Watson - keyboards, vibraphone, backing vocals
Xavier Muñoz Guimera - bass guitar, backing vocals Former membersJoe Dilworth - drums
Martin Kean - bass guitar
Gina Morris - backing vocals
Mick Conroy - keyboards
Mary Hansen - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion
Sean O'Hagan - keyboards, guitar
Duncan Brown - bass guitar
Katharine Gifford - keyboards
Morgane Lhote - keyboards
David Pajo - bass guitar
Richard Harrison - bass guitar
Simon Johns - bass guitar
Dominic Jeffery - keyboards
Joseph Walters - french horn, guitar, keyboards
Julien Gasc - keyboards, backing vocals TimelineDiscography
Stereolab released many non-LP tracks that they later anthologised as compilation albums.Studio albums Peng! (1992)
Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (1993)
Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)
Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
Dots and Loops (1997)
Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (1999)
Sound-Dust (2001)
Margerine Eclipse (2004)
Chemical Chords (2008)
Not Music (2010)Compilation albums'''
Switched On (1992)
Refried Ectoplasm: Switched On, Vol. 2 (1995)
Aluminum Tunes: Switched On, Vol. 3 (1998)
ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions (2002)
Oscillons from the Anti-Sun (2005)
Fab Four Suture (2006)
Serene Velocity: A Stereolab Anthology (2006)
Electrically Possessed: Switched On, Vol. 4'' (2021)
References
Book sources
Chart data
External links
Musical groups established in 1990
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
Musical groups reestablished in 2019
English indie rock groups
English post-rock groups
Flying Nun Records artists
Drag City (record label) artists
4AD artists
British indie pop groups
English experimental rock groups
Art pop musicians
Experimental pop musicians
Avant-pop musicians
Slumberland Records artists | false | [
"Guy Scheiman is an Israeli DJ, remixer and music producer known for his official remixes and productions. He has performed as DJ in several club appearances and notable international events across the globe.\n\nIn 2015, Scheiman founded his own record label named Guy Scheiman Music. He has collaborated with Inaya Day, Katherine Ellis, Amuka, and other notable Diva singers. He also collaborated with notable DJs and musicians such as Tony Moran, Nina Flowers, and was a part of Bent Collective.\n\nIn 2020, Scheiman was nominated for the 18th Annual Independent Music Awards.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n\nNotable Releases\n\nNotable Remixes\n\nSee also \n What About Us (The Saturdays song)\n Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)\n Trenyce\n What Now (song)\n I Was Gonna Cancel\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nIsraeli musicians\nIsraeli DJs\nIsraeli record producers\nRemixers\nRecord producers\nMusicians from Tel Aviv\n\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"Ronnie Free (born Ronald Guy Free on January 15, 1936, in Charleston, South Carolina) is an American jazz drummer. His recording credits date back to the 1950s and he has collaborated with many notable jazz musicians including pianists Mose Allison, Oscar Pettiford, Sonny Clark, and bandleader Woody Herman.\nThe story of Ronnie Free's time in New York is told in an episode of NPR's \"The Jazz Loft\" series and as a resident of the loft Free functioned as the \"house drummer\" for many of the jam sessions that occurred there.\n\nDiscography\n\nWith Mose Allison\nRamblin' with Mose (Prestige, 1958)\nCreek Bank (Prestige, 1958)\nAutumn Song (Prestige, 1959)\nWith Lee Konitz and Jimmy Guiffre\nLee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre (Verve, 1959)\n\nExternal links \nWhat Happened to Ronnie Free?\nThe Jazz Lesson ....... By Alan Freeman\nRon Free interview on \"The Story\" from WUNC\n\nAmerican session musicians\nMusicians from Charleston, South Carolina\n1936 births\nLiving people\n20th-century American drummers\nAmerican male drummers\n20th-century American male musicians"
]
|
[
"Louison Bobet",
"Personality"
]
| C_d623468db8bb476a82f473f8e0d801a7_0 | What was notable about Bobet's personality? | 1 | What was notable about Louison Bobet's personality? | Louison Bobet | The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Geminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist Rene de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player". Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Geminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person. Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote: It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast. Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores. CANNOTANSWER | striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol, | Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship (1950 and 1951), Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International (1951 & 52), Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).
Origins
Louis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6 km. Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison - little Louis - to avoid confusion The ending -on is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.
His sister played table tennis, his brother Jean football, although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis. It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.
Bobet's first race was a 30 km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish. He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 at Montluçon and came sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional team-mate and rival.
Bobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during the second world war. After D-Day he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.
Racing career
Bobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, Marcel Bidot, who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for Stella, a bicycle factory in Nantes.
Tour de France 1947
Stella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la Seine race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the Alps and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname "cry-baby" in the bunch and René Vietto referred to him as La Bobette, a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:
He brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. René Vietto was in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and he looked like he was going to win - he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.
Tour de France 1948
The former rider, Maurice Archambaud, took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to Biarritz. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, Gino Bartali as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.
(See Gino Bartali for full story.)
A political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour. Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a drapery shop for his wife.
Tour de France 1950
Bobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at Montlhéry south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating nicknames by doubling a syllable of a name referred to Bobet as Zonzon, a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.
Bobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of Fausto Coppi, who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable Ferdinand Kübler. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.
Tour de France 1953
Bobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, Hugo Koblet already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:
It was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.
And then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the Vars. He climbed the Col d'Izoard alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving. The historian Bill McGann wrote:
Stage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from Gap to Briançon... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, Adolphe Deledda, went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider Jesus Lorono attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the "woman in white"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.
He won that day by more than five minutes in Briançon, took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, then won the time trial and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass. Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that "Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.
Tour de France 1954
The 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for Mercier, the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in St-Étienne.
Tour de France 1955
Bobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The strongest French rider at first was Antonin Rolland and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. "His flesh was full of holes", said a report. "Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word 'cancer'" Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.
He learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.
Tour de France 1958
The 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:
He has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.
He came seventh.
Personality
The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist René de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player".
Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.
Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote:
It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.
Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.
Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.
Raymond Le Bert
Bobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal soigneur, taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a physiotherapist from St-Brieuc, as well as a secretary and a driver. Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.
Le Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his "modern" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs. Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:
One table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
Bobet and Britain
Bobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the British Best All-Rounder time-trial competition at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1954. He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons. Bobet flew from Paris to London in a de Havilland Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner. Jock Wadley, the editor of Sporting Cyclist was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at Le Bourget airport without having brought passports - but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.
Retirement and death
Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.
Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at Port du Crouesty at Quiberon. The Quiberon centre was purchased by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa brand. He fell ill, however, and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town, the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.
Career achievements
Major results
Tour de France
4th overall and 2 stage wins (1948)
3rd overall, 1 stage win and Winner mountains classification (1950)
20th overall and 1 stage win (1951)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1953)
1st overall and 3 stage wins (1954)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1955)
7th overall (1958)
Giro d'Italia
2nd overall, 1 stage win and leading the general classification for 9 stages (1957)
7th overall, 1 stage win and winner Mountains classification (1951)
Other races
World Road Race Championship (1954)
National Road Championship (1950, 1951)
Milan–San Remo (1951)
Giro di Lombardia (1951)
Critérium International (1951, 1952)
Desgrange-Colombo Trophy (1951)
Paris–Nice (1952)
Grand Prix des Nations (1952)
Tour of Flanders (1955)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955)
Tour de Luxembourg (1955)
Paris–Roubaix (1956)
Bordeaux–Paris (1959)
Critérium des As (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954)
Grand Tour results timeline
See also
Jean Bobet
References
External links
Complete Palmarès
Cycling Hall of Fame Profile
1925 births
1983 deaths
Deaths from cancer in France
French male cyclists
French Tour de France stage winners
French Giro d'Italia stage winners
Sportspeople from Ille-et-Vilaine
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners | false | [
"Louis \"Louison\" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship (1950 and 1951), Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International (1951 & 52), Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).\n\nOrigins\nLouis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6 km. Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison - little Louis - to avoid confusion The ending -on is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.\n\nHis sister played table tennis, his brother Jean football, although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis. It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.\n\nBobet's first race was a 30 km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish. He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 at Montluçon and came sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional team-mate and rival.\n\nBobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during the second world war. After D-Day he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.\n\nRacing career\n\nBobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, Marcel Bidot, who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for Stella, a bicycle factory in Nantes.\n\nTour de France 1947\n\nStella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la Seine race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the Alps and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname \"cry-baby\" in the bunch and René Vietto referred to him as La Bobette, a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:\n\nHe brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. René Vietto was in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and he looked like he was going to win - he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.\n\nTour de France 1948\nThe former rider, Maurice Archambaud, took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to Biarritz. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, Gino Bartali as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.\n\n(See Gino Bartali for full story.)\n\nA political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour. Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a drapery shop for his wife.\n\nTour de France 1950\nBobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at Montlhéry south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating nicknames by doubling a syllable of a name referred to Bobet as Zonzon, a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.\n\nBobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of Fausto Coppi, who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable Ferdinand Kübler. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.\n\nTour de France 1953\n \nBobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, Hugo Koblet already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:\n\nIt was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.\n\nAnd then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the Vars. He climbed the Col d'Izoard alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving. The historian Bill McGann wrote:\nStage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from Gap to Briançon... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, Adolphe Deledda, went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider Jesus Lorono attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the \"woman in white\"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.\n\nHe won that day by more than five minutes in Briançon, took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, then won the time trial and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass. Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that \"Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.\n\nTour de France 1954\n\nThe 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for Mercier, the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in St-Étienne.\n\nTour de France 1955\nBobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The strongest French rider at first was Antonin Rolland and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. \"His flesh was full of holes\", said a report. \"Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word 'cancer'\" Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.\n\nHe learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.\n\nTour de France 1958\nThe 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:\n\nHe has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.\n\nHe came seventh.\n\nPersonality\nThe most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet \"a private man and a little moody\" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist René de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that \"he didn't look good on a bike\" and that he had \"the legs of a football [soccer] player\".\n\nBobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. \"He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France\", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.\n\nBobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote:\nIt produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.\n\nGoddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. \nBobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.\n\nRaymond Le Bert\nBobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal soigneur, taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a physiotherapist from St-Brieuc, as well as a secretary and a driver. Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.\n\nLe Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his \"modern\" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs. Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:\n\nOne table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.\n\nBobet and Britain\nBobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the British Best All-Rounder time-trial competition at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1954. He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons. Bobet flew from Paris to London in a de Havilland Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner. Jock Wadley, the editor of Sporting Cyclist was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at Le Bourget airport without having brought passports - but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.\n\nRetirement and death\n\nBobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.\n\nLouison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at Port du Crouesty at Quiberon. The Quiberon centre was purchased by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa brand. He fell ill, however, and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town, the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.\n\nCareer achievements\n\nMajor results\n\n Tour de France\n 4th overall and 2 stage wins (1948)\n 3rd overall, 1 stage win and Winner mountains classification (1950)\n 20th overall and 1 stage win (1951)\n 1st overall and 2 stage wins (1953)\n 1st overall and 3 stage wins (1954)\n 1st overall and 2 stage wins (1955)\n 7th overall (1958)\n Giro d'Italia\n 2nd overall, 1 stage win and leading the general classification for 9 stages (1957)\n 7th overall, 1 stage win and winner Mountains classification (1951)\nOther races\n World Road Race Championship (1954)\n National Road Championship (1950, 1951)\n Milan–San Remo (1951)\n Giro di Lombardia (1951)\n Critérium International (1951, 1952)\n Desgrange-Colombo Trophy (1951)\n Paris–Nice (1952)\n Grand Prix des Nations (1952)\n Tour of Flanders (1955)\n Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955)\n Tour de Luxembourg (1955)\n Paris–Roubaix (1956)\n Bordeaux–Paris (1959)\n Critérium des As (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954)\n\nGrand Tour results timeline\n\nSee also\nJean Bobet\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nComplete Palmarès\nCycling Hall of Fame Profile\n\n1925 births\n1983 deaths\nDeaths from cancer in France\nFrench male cyclists\nFrench Tour de France stage winners\nFrench Giro d'Italia stage winners\nSportspeople from Ille-et-Vilaine\nTour de France winners\nUCI Road World Champions (elite men)\nChallenge Desgrange-Colombo winners",
"The 39th running of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic was held on Sunday, 27 March 1955. French rider Louison Bobet won the race in a three-man sprint with Hugo Koblet and Rik Van Steenbergen. 47 of 203 riders finished.\n\nRace Report\nRik Van Steenbergen was in an early breakaway with 12 riders and was first on the Kluisberg and Kruisberg. In Geraardsbergen, just after the peloton caught the group, Van Steenbergen, Louison Bobet, Bernard Gauthier and Hugo Koblet broke away on the steep Kloosterstraat. Gauthier did most of the work in the four-man group for his team leader Bobet. Van Steenbergen, favourite to win in the sprint, paid his earlier efforts and was beaten by Bobet and Koblet. Louison Bobet, a three-time winner of the Tour de France, secured the first ever victory for a French rider in the Tour of Flanders.\n\nRoute\nThe race started in Ghent and finished in Wetteren – totaling 263 km. The course featured four categorized climbs:\n Kluisberg\n Kruisberg\n Edelareberg\n Kloosterstraat (Geraardsbergen)\n\nResults\n\nReferences\n\n1955\n1955 in road cycling\n1955 in Belgian sport\n1955 Challenge Desgrange-Colombo"
]
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[
"Louison Bobet",
"Personality",
"What was notable about Bobet's personality?",
"striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol,"
]
| C_d623468db8bb476a82f473f8e0d801a7_0 | Did his personality create any problems? | 2 | Did Louison Bobet's personality create any problems? | Louison Bobet | The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Geminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist Rene de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player". Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Geminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person. Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote: It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast. Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores. CANNOTANSWER | The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. | Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship (1950 and 1951), Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International (1951 & 52), Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).
Origins
Louis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6 km. Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison - little Louis - to avoid confusion The ending -on is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.
His sister played table tennis, his brother Jean football, although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis. It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.
Bobet's first race was a 30 km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish. He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 at Montluçon and came sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional team-mate and rival.
Bobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during the second world war. After D-Day he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.
Racing career
Bobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, Marcel Bidot, who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for Stella, a bicycle factory in Nantes.
Tour de France 1947
Stella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la Seine race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the Alps and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname "cry-baby" in the bunch and René Vietto referred to him as La Bobette, a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:
He brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. René Vietto was in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and he looked like he was going to win - he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.
Tour de France 1948
The former rider, Maurice Archambaud, took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to Biarritz. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, Gino Bartali as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.
(See Gino Bartali for full story.)
A political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour. Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a drapery shop for his wife.
Tour de France 1950
Bobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at Montlhéry south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating nicknames by doubling a syllable of a name referred to Bobet as Zonzon, a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.
Bobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of Fausto Coppi, who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable Ferdinand Kübler. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.
Tour de France 1953
Bobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, Hugo Koblet already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:
It was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.
And then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the Vars. He climbed the Col d'Izoard alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving. The historian Bill McGann wrote:
Stage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from Gap to Briançon... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, Adolphe Deledda, went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider Jesus Lorono attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the "woman in white"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.
He won that day by more than five minutes in Briançon, took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, then won the time trial and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass. Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that "Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.
Tour de France 1954
The 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for Mercier, the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in St-Étienne.
Tour de France 1955
Bobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The strongest French rider at first was Antonin Rolland and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. "His flesh was full of holes", said a report. "Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word 'cancer'" Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.
He learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.
Tour de France 1958
The 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:
He has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.
He came seventh.
Personality
The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist René de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player".
Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.
Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote:
It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.
Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.
Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.
Raymond Le Bert
Bobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal soigneur, taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a physiotherapist from St-Brieuc, as well as a secretary and a driver. Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.
Le Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his "modern" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs. Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:
One table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
Bobet and Britain
Bobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the British Best All-Rounder time-trial competition at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1954. He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons. Bobet flew from Paris to London in a de Havilland Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner. Jock Wadley, the editor of Sporting Cyclist was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at Le Bourget airport without having brought passports - but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.
Retirement and death
Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.
Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at Port du Crouesty at Quiberon. The Quiberon centre was purchased by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa brand. He fell ill, however, and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town, the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.
Career achievements
Major results
Tour de France
4th overall and 2 stage wins (1948)
3rd overall, 1 stage win and Winner mountains classification (1950)
20th overall and 1 stage win (1951)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1953)
1st overall and 3 stage wins (1954)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1955)
7th overall (1958)
Giro d'Italia
2nd overall, 1 stage win and leading the general classification for 9 stages (1957)
7th overall, 1 stage win and winner Mountains classification (1951)
Other races
World Road Race Championship (1954)
National Road Championship (1950, 1951)
Milan–San Remo (1951)
Giro di Lombardia (1951)
Critérium International (1951, 1952)
Desgrange-Colombo Trophy (1951)
Paris–Nice (1952)
Grand Prix des Nations (1952)
Tour of Flanders (1955)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955)
Tour de Luxembourg (1955)
Paris–Roubaix (1956)
Bordeaux–Paris (1959)
Critérium des As (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954)
Grand Tour results timeline
See also
Jean Bobet
References
External links
Complete Palmarès
Cycling Hall of Fame Profile
1925 births
1983 deaths
Deaths from cancer in France
French male cyclists
French Tour de France stage winners
French Giro d'Italia stage winners
Sportspeople from Ille-et-Vilaine
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners | true | [
"Personality crisis may refer to one or more personality problems:\n Existential crisis\n Identity crisis, undeveloped or confused identity\n Midlife crisis\n\nIt may also refer to:\n Personality Crisis (band), a Canadian punk rock group\n Personality Crisis, an album by The Bear Quartet\n \"Personality Crisis\" (song), the lead track from the New York Dolls' self titled debut album",
"The interpersonal circle or interpersonal circumplex is a model for conceptualizing, organizing, and assessing interpersonal behavior, traits, and motives. The interpersonal circumplex is defined by two orthogonal axes: a vertical axis (of status, dominance, power, ambitiousness, assertiveness, or control) and a horizontal axis (of agreeableness, compassion, nurturant, solidarity, friendliness, warmth, affiliation or love). In recent years, it has become conventional to identify the vertical and horizontal axes with the broad constructs of agency and communion. Thus, each point in the interpersonal circumplex space can be specified as a weighted combination of agency and communion.\n\nCharacter traits\nPlacing a person near one of the poles of the axes implies that the person tends to convey clear or strong messages (of warmth, hostility, dominance or submissiveness). Conversely, placing a person at the midpoint of the agentic dimension implies the person conveys neither dominance nor submissiveness (and pulls neither dominance nor submissiveness from others). Likewise, placing a person at the midpoint of the communal dimension implies the person conveys neither warmth nor hostility (and pulls neither warmth nor hostility from others).\n\nThe interpersonal circumplex can be divided into broad segments (such as fourths) or narrow segments (such as sixteenths), but currently most interpersonal circumplex inventories partition the circle into eight octants. As one moves around the circle, each octant reflects a progressive blend of the two axial dimensions.\n\nThere exist a variety of psychological tests designed to measure these eight interpersonal circumplex octants. For example, the Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS; Wiggins, 1995) is a measure of interpersonal traits associated with each octant of the interpersonal circumplex. The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; Horowitz, Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 2000) is a measure of problems associated with each octant of the interpersonal circumplex, whereas the Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths (IIS; Hatcher & Rogers, 2009) is a measure of strengths associated with each octant. The Circumplex Scales of Interpersonal Values (CSIV; Locke, 2000) is a 64-item measure of the value individuals place on interpersonal experiences associated with each octant of the interpersonal circumplex. The Person's Relating to Others Questionnaire (PROQ), the latest version being the PROQ3 is a 48-item measure developed by the British doctor John Birtchnell. Finally, the Impact Message Inventory-Circumplex (IMI; Kiesler, Schmidt, & Wagner, 1997) assesses the interpersonal dispositions of a target person, not by asking the target person directly, but by assessing the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that the target evokes in another person. Since interpersonal dispositions are key features of most personality disorders, interpersonal circumplex measures can be useful tools for identifying or differentiating personality disorders (Kiesler, 1996; Leary, 1957; Locke, 2006).\n\nHistory\nOriginally coined Leary Circumplex or Leary Circle after Timothy Leary is defined as \"a two-dimensional representation of personality organized around two major axes\".\n\nIn the 20th century, there were a number of efforts by personality psychologists to create comprehensive taxonomies to describe the most important and fundamental traits of human nature. Leary would later become famous for his controversial LSD experiments at Harvard. His circumplex, developed in 1957, is a circular continuum of personality formed from the intersection of two base axes: Power and Love. The opposing sides of the power axis are dominance and submission, while the opposing sides of the love axis are love and hate (Wiggins, 1996).\n\nLeary argued that all other dimensions of personality can be viewed as a blending of these two axes. For example, a person who is stubborn and inflexible in their personal relationships might graph her personality somewhere on the arc between dominance and love. However, a person who exhibits passive–aggressive tendencies might find herself best described on the arc between submission and hate. The main idea of the Leary Circumplex is that each and every human trait can be mapped as a vector coordinate within this circle.\n\nFurthermore, the Leary Circumplex also represents a kind of bull's eye of healthy psychological adjustment. Theoretically speaking, the most well-adjusted person of the planet could have their personality mapped at the exact center of the circumplex, right at the intersection of the two axes, while individuals exhibiting extremes in personality would be located on the circumference of the circle.\n\nThe Leary Circumplex offers three major benefits as a taxonomy. It offers a map of interpersonal traits within a geometric circle. It allows for comparison of different traits within the system. It provides a scale of healthy and unhealthy expressions of each trait.\n\nSee also\n Circumplex model of group tasks\n Interpersonal reflex\n Lorna Smith Benjamin – creator of the similar Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) circumplex model\n Personality psychology\n Unmitigated communion\n\nReferences\n\nCited\n\nGeneral\n Hatcher, R.L., & Rogers, D.T. (2009). Development and validation of a measure of interpersonal strengths: The Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths. Psychological Assessment, 21, 544-569.\n Horowitz, L.M. (2004). Interpersonal Foundations of Psychopathology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.\n Horowitz, L.M., Alden, L.E., Wiggins, J.S., & Pincus, A.L. (2000). Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Manual. Odessa, FL: The Psychological Corporation.\n Kiesler, D.J. (1996). Contemporary Interpersonal Theory and Research: Personality, psychopathology and psychotherapy. New York: Wiley.\n Kiesler, D.J., Schmidt, J.A. & Wagner, C.C. (1997). A circumplex inventory of impact messages: An operational bridge between emotional and interpersonal behavior. In R. Plutchik & H.R. Conte (Eds.), Circumplex models of personality and emotions (pp. 221–244). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.\n Leary, T. (1957). Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality. New York: Ronald Press.\n Locke, K.D. (2000). Circumplex Scales of Interpersonal Values: Reliability, validity, and applicability to interpersonal problems and personality disorders. Journal of Personality Assessment, 75, 249–267.\n Locke, K.D. (2006). Interpersonal circumplex measures. In S. Strack (Ed.), Differentiating normal and abnormal personality (2nd Ed., pp. 383–400). New York: Springer.\n\nExternal links\n Dr John Birtchnell – Measures of relating\n\nInterpersonal relationships\nPsychological models\nTimothy Leary"
]
|
[
"Louison Bobet",
"Personality",
"What was notable about Bobet's personality?",
"striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol,",
"Did his personality create any problems?",
"The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet \"a private man and a little moody\" and said he would sulk if things went wrong."
]
| C_d623468db8bb476a82f473f8e0d801a7_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 3 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article besides Louison Bobet's personality? | Louison Bobet | The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Geminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist Rene de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player". Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Geminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person. Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote: It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast. Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores. CANNOTANSWER | Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool | Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship (1950 and 1951), Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International (1951 & 52), Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).
Origins
Louis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6 km. Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison - little Louis - to avoid confusion The ending -on is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.
His sister played table tennis, his brother Jean football, although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis. It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.
Bobet's first race was a 30 km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish. He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 at Montluçon and came sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional team-mate and rival.
Bobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during the second world war. After D-Day he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.
Racing career
Bobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, Marcel Bidot, who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for Stella, a bicycle factory in Nantes.
Tour de France 1947
Stella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la Seine race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the Alps and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname "cry-baby" in the bunch and René Vietto referred to him as La Bobette, a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:
He brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. René Vietto was in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and he looked like he was going to win - he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.
Tour de France 1948
The former rider, Maurice Archambaud, took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to Biarritz. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, Gino Bartali as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.
(See Gino Bartali for full story.)
A political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour. Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a drapery shop for his wife.
Tour de France 1950
Bobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at Montlhéry south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating nicknames by doubling a syllable of a name referred to Bobet as Zonzon, a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.
Bobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of Fausto Coppi, who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable Ferdinand Kübler. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.
Tour de France 1953
Bobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, Hugo Koblet already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:
It was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.
And then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the Vars. He climbed the Col d'Izoard alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving. The historian Bill McGann wrote:
Stage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from Gap to Briançon... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, Adolphe Deledda, went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider Jesus Lorono attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the "woman in white"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.
He won that day by more than five minutes in Briançon, took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, then won the time trial and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass. Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that "Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.
Tour de France 1954
The 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for Mercier, the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in St-Étienne.
Tour de France 1955
Bobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The strongest French rider at first was Antonin Rolland and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. "His flesh was full of holes", said a report. "Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word 'cancer'" Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.
He learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.
Tour de France 1958
The 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:
He has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.
He came seventh.
Personality
The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist René de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player".
Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.
Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote:
It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.
Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.
Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.
Raymond Le Bert
Bobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal soigneur, taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a physiotherapist from St-Brieuc, as well as a secretary and a driver. Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.
Le Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his "modern" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs. Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:
One table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
Bobet and Britain
Bobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the British Best All-Rounder time-trial competition at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1954. He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons. Bobet flew from Paris to London in a de Havilland Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner. Jock Wadley, the editor of Sporting Cyclist was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at Le Bourget airport without having brought passports - but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.
Retirement and death
Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.
Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at Port du Crouesty at Quiberon. The Quiberon centre was purchased by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa brand. He fell ill, however, and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town, the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.
Career achievements
Major results
Tour de France
4th overall and 2 stage wins (1948)
3rd overall, 1 stage win and Winner mountains classification (1950)
20th overall and 1 stage win (1951)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1953)
1st overall and 3 stage wins (1954)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1955)
7th overall (1958)
Giro d'Italia
2nd overall, 1 stage win and leading the general classification for 9 stages (1957)
7th overall, 1 stage win and winner Mountains classification (1951)
Other races
World Road Race Championship (1954)
National Road Championship (1950, 1951)
Milan–San Remo (1951)
Giro di Lombardia (1951)
Critérium International (1951, 1952)
Desgrange-Colombo Trophy (1951)
Paris–Nice (1952)
Grand Prix des Nations (1952)
Tour of Flanders (1955)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955)
Tour de Luxembourg (1955)
Paris–Roubaix (1956)
Bordeaux–Paris (1959)
Critérium des As (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954)
Grand Tour results timeline
See also
Jean Bobet
References
External links
Complete Palmarès
Cycling Hall of Fame Profile
1925 births
1983 deaths
Deaths from cancer in France
French male cyclists
French Tour de France stage winners
French Giro d'Italia stage winners
Sportspeople from Ille-et-Vilaine
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners | 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"
]
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[
"Louison Bobet",
"Personality",
"What was notable about Bobet's personality?",
"striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol,",
"Did his personality create any problems?",
"The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet \"a private man and a little moody\" and said he would sulk if things went wrong.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool"
]
| C_d623468db8bb476a82f473f8e0d801a7_0 | Did they give him a new jersey? | 4 | Did the team give Louison Bobet a new jersey? | Louison Bobet | The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Geminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist Rene de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player". Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Geminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person. Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote: It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast. Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores. CANNOTANSWER | Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. | Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship (1950 and 1951), Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International (1951 & 52), Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).
Origins
Louis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6 km. Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison - little Louis - to avoid confusion The ending -on is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.
His sister played table tennis, his brother Jean football, although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis. It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.
Bobet's first race was a 30 km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish. He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 at Montluçon and came sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional team-mate and rival.
Bobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during the second world war. After D-Day he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.
Racing career
Bobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, Marcel Bidot, who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for Stella, a bicycle factory in Nantes.
Tour de France 1947
Stella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la Seine race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the Alps and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname "cry-baby" in the bunch and René Vietto referred to him as La Bobette, a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:
He brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. René Vietto was in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and he looked like he was going to win - he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.
Tour de France 1948
The former rider, Maurice Archambaud, took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to Biarritz. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, Gino Bartali as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.
(See Gino Bartali for full story.)
A political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour. Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a drapery shop for his wife.
Tour de France 1950
Bobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at Montlhéry south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating nicknames by doubling a syllable of a name referred to Bobet as Zonzon, a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.
Bobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of Fausto Coppi, who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable Ferdinand Kübler. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.
Tour de France 1953
Bobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, Hugo Koblet already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:
It was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.
And then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the Vars. He climbed the Col d'Izoard alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving. The historian Bill McGann wrote:
Stage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from Gap to Briançon... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, Adolphe Deledda, went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider Jesus Lorono attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the "woman in white"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.
He won that day by more than five minutes in Briançon, took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, then won the time trial and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass. Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that "Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.
Tour de France 1954
The 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for Mercier, the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in St-Étienne.
Tour de France 1955
Bobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The strongest French rider at first was Antonin Rolland and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. "His flesh was full of holes", said a report. "Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word 'cancer'" Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.
He learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.
Tour de France 1958
The 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:
He has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.
He came seventh.
Personality
The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist René de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player".
Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.
Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote:
It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.
Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.
Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.
Raymond Le Bert
Bobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal soigneur, taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a physiotherapist from St-Brieuc, as well as a secretary and a driver. Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.
Le Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his "modern" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs. Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:
One table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
Bobet and Britain
Bobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the British Best All-Rounder time-trial competition at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1954. He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons. Bobet flew from Paris to London in a de Havilland Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner. Jock Wadley, the editor of Sporting Cyclist was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at Le Bourget airport without having brought passports - but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.
Retirement and death
Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.
Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at Port du Crouesty at Quiberon. The Quiberon centre was purchased by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa brand. He fell ill, however, and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town, the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.
Career achievements
Major results
Tour de France
4th overall and 2 stage wins (1948)
3rd overall, 1 stage win and Winner mountains classification (1950)
20th overall and 1 stage win (1951)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1953)
1st overall and 3 stage wins (1954)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1955)
7th overall (1958)
Giro d'Italia
2nd overall, 1 stage win and leading the general classification for 9 stages (1957)
7th overall, 1 stage win and winner Mountains classification (1951)
Other races
World Road Race Championship (1954)
National Road Championship (1950, 1951)
Milan–San Remo (1951)
Giro di Lombardia (1951)
Critérium International (1951, 1952)
Desgrange-Colombo Trophy (1951)
Paris–Nice (1952)
Grand Prix des Nations (1952)
Tour of Flanders (1955)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955)
Tour de Luxembourg (1955)
Paris–Roubaix (1956)
Bordeaux–Paris (1959)
Critérium des As (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954)
Grand Tour results timeline
See also
Jean Bobet
References
External links
Complete Palmarès
Cycling Hall of Fame Profile
1925 births
1983 deaths
Deaths from cancer in France
French male cyclists
French Tour de France stage winners
French Giro d'Italia stage winners
Sportspeople from Ille-et-Vilaine
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners | true | [
"Henry J. Hopper (1830–1905) was the 21st Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from May 6, 1878 to May 2, 1880.\n\nBiography\nHopper was born in 1830 in New Jersey. He married Margaret Stagg Mount on April 3, 1855. They had three children; Sophronia, Arthur and Marian. He became a steel merchant with the Crucible Steel Company of New York City. A Democrat, he was elected mayor on April 9, 1878. After serving one term as mayor, the Democrats did not re-nominate him but instead went with Isaac William Taussig.\n\nHopper died in his home in East Orange, New Jersey on October 6, 1905.\n\nReferences\n\n1830 births\n1905 deaths\nNew Jersey Democrats\nMayors of Jersey City, New Jersey\nPoliticians from East Orange, New Jersey",
"David Goldfarb (March 1, 1917 - January 27, 2000) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly. He was the longtime Republican Party Chairman in South Orange, New Jersey. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1969, running with incumbent Herbert Rinaldi in Essex County District 11D. They defeated Democrats Joseph C. Barry, Jr. and Edward J. Lynch. He did not seek re-election in 1971 after legislative redistricting placed him in the same district as Republican incumbents Thomas Kean and Philip Kaltenbacher. He worked as a lobbyist for the taxi and confectionery industries for many years after leaving the Legislature.\n\nReferences\n\n1917 births\n2000 deaths\nNew Jersey Republicans\nMembers of the New Jersey General Assembly\nAmerican lobbyists\nPeople from South Orange, New Jersey\n20th-century American politicians"
]
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[
"Louison Bobet",
"Personality",
"What was notable about Bobet's personality?",
"striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol,",
"Did his personality create any problems?",
"The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet \"a private man and a little moody\" and said he would sulk if things went wrong.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool",
"Did they give him a new jersey?",
" Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent."
]
| C_d623468db8bb476a82f473f8e0d801a7_0 | Why did he want the jersey to be made of pure wool? | 5 | Why did Bobet want the jersey to be made of pure wool? | Louison Bobet | The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Geminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist Rene de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player". Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Geminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person. Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote: It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast. Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores. CANNOTANSWER | Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores. | Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship (1950 and 1951), Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International (1951 & 52), Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).
Origins
Louis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6 km. Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison - little Louis - to avoid confusion The ending -on is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.
His sister played table tennis, his brother Jean football, although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis. It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.
Bobet's first race was a 30 km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish. He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 at Montluçon and came sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional team-mate and rival.
Bobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during the second world war. After D-Day he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.
Racing career
Bobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, Marcel Bidot, who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for Stella, a bicycle factory in Nantes.
Tour de France 1947
Stella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la Seine race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the Alps and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname "cry-baby" in the bunch and René Vietto referred to him as La Bobette, a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:
He brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. René Vietto was in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and he looked like he was going to win - he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.
Tour de France 1948
The former rider, Maurice Archambaud, took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to Biarritz. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, Gino Bartali as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.
(See Gino Bartali for full story.)
A political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour. Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a drapery shop for his wife.
Tour de France 1950
Bobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at Montlhéry south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating nicknames by doubling a syllable of a name referred to Bobet as Zonzon, a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.
Bobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of Fausto Coppi, who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable Ferdinand Kübler. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.
Tour de France 1953
Bobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, Hugo Koblet already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:
It was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.
And then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the Vars. He climbed the Col d'Izoard alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving. The historian Bill McGann wrote:
Stage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from Gap to Briançon... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, Adolphe Deledda, went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider Jesus Lorono attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the "woman in white"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.
He won that day by more than five minutes in Briançon, took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, then won the time trial and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass. Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that "Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.
Tour de France 1954
The 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for Mercier, the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in St-Étienne.
Tour de France 1955
Bobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The strongest French rider at first was Antonin Rolland and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. "His flesh was full of holes", said a report. "Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word 'cancer'" Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.
He learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.
Tour de France 1958
The 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:
He has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.
He came seventh.
Personality
The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist René de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player".
Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.
Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote:
It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.
Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.
Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.
Raymond Le Bert
Bobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal soigneur, taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a physiotherapist from St-Brieuc, as well as a secretary and a driver. Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.
Le Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his "modern" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs. Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:
One table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
Bobet and Britain
Bobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the British Best All-Rounder time-trial competition at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1954. He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons. Bobet flew from Paris to London in a de Havilland Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner. Jock Wadley, the editor of Sporting Cyclist was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at Le Bourget airport without having brought passports - but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.
Retirement and death
Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.
Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at Port du Crouesty at Quiberon. The Quiberon centre was purchased by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa brand. He fell ill, however, and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town, the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.
Career achievements
Major results
Tour de France
4th overall and 2 stage wins (1948)
3rd overall, 1 stage win and Winner mountains classification (1950)
20th overall and 1 stage win (1951)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1953)
1st overall and 3 stage wins (1954)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1955)
7th overall (1958)
Giro d'Italia
2nd overall, 1 stage win and leading the general classification for 9 stages (1957)
7th overall, 1 stage win and winner Mountains classification (1951)
Other races
World Road Race Championship (1954)
National Road Championship (1950, 1951)
Milan–San Remo (1951)
Giro di Lombardia (1951)
Critérium International (1951, 1952)
Desgrange-Colombo Trophy (1951)
Paris–Nice (1952)
Grand Prix des Nations (1952)
Tour of Flanders (1955)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955)
Tour de Luxembourg (1955)
Paris–Roubaix (1956)
Bordeaux–Paris (1959)
Critérium des As (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954)
Grand Tour results timeline
See also
Jean Bobet
References
External links
Complete Palmarès
Cycling Hall of Fame Profile
1925 births
1983 deaths
Deaths from cancer in France
French male cyclists
French Tour de France stage winners
French Giro d'Italia stage winners
Sportspeople from Ille-et-Vilaine
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners | true | [
"Woolmark is a wool industry certification mark used on pure wool products that meet quality standards set by The Woolmark Company. It is a trade mark owned by The Woolmark Company, which has since 2007 been a subsidiary of Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI). The logo was launched in 1964 by the Woolmark Company under its previous name, the International Wool Secretariat.\n\nHistory\nThe Woolmark logo was developed by the International Wool Secretariat (IWS), which had been founded in 1937. The logo was launched in August 1964 by IWS, then under the control of two Australians, William (Archer) Gunn (1914-2003) who was chairman and William Vines (1916-2011) its managing director.\n\nThe two main objectives of the logo were to position wool at the top of the textile market and to ensure that products bearing the Woolmark label were made from pure new wool and manufactured to the highest standards.\n\nThe logo had been selected by IWS following a competition in 1963 won by Milanese graphic artist Francesco Saroglia (most probably a pseudonym of Italian architect, graphic designer Franco Grignani).\n\nThe logo was originally owned by IWS, which in 1997 changed its name to The Woolmark Company Pty Ltd. The Woolmark Company Pty Ltd and Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) were subsidiaries of the Australian Wool Research and Promotion Organisation, which was succeeded by Australian Wool Services Limited (AWS). AWI was de-merged from AWS in 2002 and The Woolmark Company was sold by AWS to AWI in 2007. Since 2007, the Woolmark Company has been a subsidiary of AWI, a nonprofit organization that conducts research, development and marketing along the global supply chain for Australian wool on behalf of approximately 60,000 woolgrowers that cooperatively fund the company. What remained of AWS became Graziers’ Investment Company Limited, which as at March 2020 was in the process of liquidation.\n\nThe logo has been such a success that it eventually ranked with a large scallop shell or three-pointed-star in terms of consumer recognition and understanding. In 2011, British design magazine, Creative Review, declared the Woolmark number one of the top twenty logos of all time.\n\nLicensing\nAWI licenses the Woolmark trade mark to be used by affiliated vendors on their products as a certification mark that the product conforms to the standards set by AWI. AWI claims that the mark is employed on textile products as an assurance that the product is made of 100% pure new wool. It signifies the brand of wool.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nOfficial website\n\nCertification marks\nTrademarks\nWoollen industry\nSymbols introduced in 1964",
"Jersey is a knit fabric used predominantly for clothing manufacture. It was originally made of wool, but is now made of wool, cotton, and synthetic fibers.\n\nHistory\nSince medieval times, Jersey, Channel Islands, where the material was first produced, had been an important exporter of knitted goods and the fabric in wool from Jersey became well known. \n\nIn 1916, Gabrielle \"Coco\" Chanel upset the fashion industry by using jersey at a time when it was strictly associated with underwear. \"This designer made jersey what it is today—we hope she's satisfied,\" said Vogue in 1999. \"It's almost as much part of our lives as blue serge is.\"\n\nStructure \nJersey is a weft knit fabric that is knitted on a single set of needles with all loops meshing in the same direction. By and large, it is knitted in plain stitch. It is also called plain. On the other hand, the double jersey is knit using two sets of needles, does not curl at the edges (when cut), and has a more stable structure.\n\nTypes \nThe fabric can be a very stretchy single knitting, usually light-weight, jersey with one flat side and one piled side. When made with a lightweight yarn, this is the fabric most often used to make T-shirts. \n\nOr it can be a double knitted jersey (interlock jersey), with less stretch, that creates a heavier fabric of two single jerseys knitted together to leave the two flat sides on the outsides of the fabric, with the piles in the middle. Interlock jersey is sometimes used as a more formal alternative knit to the traditional piqué knit for polo shirts, and is generally the preferred knit for those made from pima cotton. \n\nJersey is considered to be an excellent fabric for draped garments, such as dresses, and women's tops. \n\nThe following types of jersey can be distinguished:\n\n Single jersey\n Double jersey\n Interlock jersey\n Jacquard jersey\n Clocqué jersey\n Stretch jersey\n\nSee also \n Kersey (cloth)\nBalbriggan (cloth)\n\nReferences\n\nJersey\nKnitted fabrics"
]
|
[
"Louison Bobet",
"Personality",
"What was notable about Bobet's personality?",
"striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol,",
"Did his personality create any problems?",
"The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet \"a private man and a little moody\" and said he would sulk if things went wrong.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool",
"Did they give him a new jersey?",
" Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.",
"Why did he want the jersey to be made of pure wool?",
"Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores."
]
| C_d623468db8bb476a82f473f8e0d801a7_0 | Did he do anything else strange with personal hygiene? | 6 | Did Bobet do anything else strange with personal hygiene other than having a wool jersey? | Louison Bobet | The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Geminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist Rene de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player". Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Geminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person. Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote: It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast. Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship (1950 and 1951), Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International (1951 & 52), Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).
Origins
Louis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6 km. Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison - little Louis - to avoid confusion The ending -on is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.
His sister played table tennis, his brother Jean football, although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis. It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.
Bobet's first race was a 30 km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish. He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 at Montluçon and came sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional team-mate and rival.
Bobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during the second world war. After D-Day he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.
Racing career
Bobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, Marcel Bidot, who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for Stella, a bicycle factory in Nantes.
Tour de France 1947
Stella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la Seine race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the Alps and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname "cry-baby" in the bunch and René Vietto referred to him as La Bobette, a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:
He brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. René Vietto was in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and he looked like he was going to win - he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.
Tour de France 1948
The former rider, Maurice Archambaud, took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to Biarritz. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, Gino Bartali as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.
(See Gino Bartali for full story.)
A political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour. Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a drapery shop for his wife.
Tour de France 1950
Bobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at Montlhéry south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating nicknames by doubling a syllable of a name referred to Bobet as Zonzon, a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.
Bobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of Fausto Coppi, who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable Ferdinand Kübler. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.
Tour de France 1953
Bobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, Hugo Koblet already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:
It was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.
And then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the Vars. He climbed the Col d'Izoard alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving. The historian Bill McGann wrote:
Stage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from Gap to Briançon... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, Adolphe Deledda, went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider Jesus Lorono attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the "woman in white"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.
He won that day by more than five minutes in Briançon, took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, then won the time trial and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass. Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that "Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.
Tour de France 1954
The 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for Mercier, the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in St-Étienne.
Tour de France 1955
Bobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The strongest French rider at first was Antonin Rolland and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. "His flesh was full of holes", said a report. "Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word 'cancer'" Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.
He learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.
Tour de France 1958
The 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:
He has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.
He came seventh.
Personality
The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist René de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player".
Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.
Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote:
It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.
Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.
Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.
Raymond Le Bert
Bobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal soigneur, taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a physiotherapist from St-Brieuc, as well as a secretary and a driver. Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.
Le Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his "modern" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs. Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:
One table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
Bobet and Britain
Bobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the British Best All-Rounder time-trial competition at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1954. He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons. Bobet flew from Paris to London in a de Havilland Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner. Jock Wadley, the editor of Sporting Cyclist was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at Le Bourget airport without having brought passports - but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.
Retirement and death
Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.
Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at Port du Crouesty at Quiberon. The Quiberon centre was purchased by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa brand. He fell ill, however, and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town, the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.
Career achievements
Major results
Tour de France
4th overall and 2 stage wins (1948)
3rd overall, 1 stage win and Winner mountains classification (1950)
20th overall and 1 stage win (1951)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1953)
1st overall and 3 stage wins (1954)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1955)
7th overall (1958)
Giro d'Italia
2nd overall, 1 stage win and leading the general classification for 9 stages (1957)
7th overall, 1 stage win and winner Mountains classification (1951)
Other races
World Road Race Championship (1954)
National Road Championship (1950, 1951)
Milan–San Remo (1951)
Giro di Lombardia (1951)
Critérium International (1951, 1952)
Desgrange-Colombo Trophy (1951)
Paris–Nice (1952)
Grand Prix des Nations (1952)
Tour of Flanders (1955)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955)
Tour de Luxembourg (1955)
Paris–Roubaix (1956)
Bordeaux–Paris (1959)
Critérium des As (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954)
Grand Tour results timeline
See also
Jean Bobet
References
External links
Complete Palmarès
Cycling Hall of Fame Profile
1925 births
1983 deaths
Deaths from cancer in France
French male cyclists
French Tour de France stage winners
French Giro d'Italia stage winners
Sportspeople from Ille-et-Vilaine
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners | false | [
"\"If You Can Do Anything Else\" is a song written by Billy Livsey and Don Schlitz, and recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in February 2001 as the third and final single from his self-titled album. The song reached number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in July 2001. It also peaked at number 51 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.\n\nContent\nThe song is about man who is giving his woman the option to leave him. He gives her many different options for all the things she can do. At the end he gives her the option to stay with him if she really can’t find anything else to do. He says he will be alright if she leaves, but really it seems he wants her to stay.\n\nChart performance\n\"If You Can Do Anything Else\" debuted at number 60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 3, 2001.\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n2001 singles\n2000 songs\nGeorge Strait songs\nSongs written by Billy Livsey\nSongs written by Don Schlitz\nSong recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer)\nMCA Nashville Records singles",
"Istinja is the action using water to clean oneself after urinating and/or defecating.\n\nIstinja is obligatory; this means removing whatever has been passed from the genitals or the rectum with water. Toilet paper and other clean implements like stones can be used in addition to water to aid purifying the area. Istijmar is the equivalent action just using stones, toilet paper, or anything else that is pure without the water. \n\nThe aim of this is to remove the impurity and maintain hygiene in accordance with Islamic law and principal. \n\nWater is standard for toilet hygiene within Muslim homes and countries, where a series of vessels that carry water (such as the tabo/cebok in Maritime Southeast Asia, the buta in West Africa, or lota/bodna in the Indian subcontinent) and internationally, the shattaf bidet shower, are used instead of, or in addition to, toilet roll.\n\nRitual purity \nThe istinja is part of Islamic hygienical jurisprudence and general ritual purity of body and soul in Islam.\n\nThe Quran says:\n\nSee also \n Ghusl\n Tahir\n Wudu\n Tayammum\n Tabo (hygiene)\n Bidet\n\nReferences\n\nEtiquette by situation\nRitual purity in Islam\nArabic words and phrases in Sharia\nArabic words and phrases\nToilet etiquett\nIslamic terminology\nIsmaili theology"
]
|
[
"Louison Bobet",
"Personality",
"What was notable about Bobet's personality?",
"striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol,",
"Did his personality create any problems?",
"The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet \"a private man and a little moody\" and said he would sulk if things went wrong.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool",
"Did they give him a new jersey?",
" Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.",
"Why did he want the jersey to be made of pure wool?",
"Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.",
"Did he do anything else strange with personal hygiene?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_d623468db8bb476a82f473f8e0d801a7_0 | What was the most interesting thing about the article? | 7 | What was the most interesting thing about the article on Bobet's personality? | Louison Bobet | The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinee idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Geminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist Rene de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player". Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Geminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person. Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote: It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast. Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores. CANNOTANSWER | Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast. | Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship (1950 and 1951), Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International (1951 & 52), Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).
Origins
Louis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6 km. Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison - little Louis - to avoid confusion The ending -on is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.
His sister played table tennis, his brother Jean football, although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis. It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.
Bobet's first race was a 30 km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish. He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 at Montluçon and came sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional team-mate and rival.
Bobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during the second world war. After D-Day he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.
Racing career
Bobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, Marcel Bidot, who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for Stella, a bicycle factory in Nantes.
Tour de France 1947
Stella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la Seine race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the Alps and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname "cry-baby" in the bunch and René Vietto referred to him as La Bobette, a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:
He brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. René Vietto was in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and he looked like he was going to win - he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.
Tour de France 1948
The former rider, Maurice Archambaud, took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to Biarritz. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, Gino Bartali as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.
(See Gino Bartali for full story.)
A political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour. Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a drapery shop for his wife.
Tour de France 1950
Bobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at Montlhéry south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating nicknames by doubling a syllable of a name referred to Bobet as Zonzon, a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.
Bobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of Fausto Coppi, who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable Ferdinand Kübler. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.
Tour de France 1953
Bobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, Hugo Koblet already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:
It was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.
And then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the Vars. He climbed the Col d'Izoard alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving. The historian Bill McGann wrote:
Stage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from Gap to Briançon... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, Adolphe Deledda, went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider Jesus Lorono attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the "woman in white"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.
He won that day by more than five minutes in Briançon, took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, then won the time trial and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass. Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that "Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.
Tour de France 1954
The 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for Mercier, the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in St-Étienne.
Tour de France 1955
Bobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The strongest French rider at first was Antonin Rolland and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. "His flesh was full of holes", said a report. "Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word 'cancer'" Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.
He learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.
Tour de France 1958
The 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:
He has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.
He came seventh.
Personality
The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of David Niven character in a dinner suit tuxedo. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own Brittany than the more rustic, forthright manners of other Breton people such as Jean Robic. The British professional Brian Robinson called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist René de Latour said of Bobet in Sporting Cyclist that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player".
Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against communists in Indo-China. He said he wasn't a Marxist but a pacifist. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said. Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.
Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. The race organiser, Jacques Goddet wrote:
It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.
Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent.
Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.
Raymond Le Bert
Bobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal soigneur, taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a physiotherapist from St-Brieuc, as well as a secretary and a driver. Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.
Le Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his "modern" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs. Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:
One table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
Bobet and Britain
Bobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the British Best All-Rounder time-trial competition at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1954. He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons. Bobet flew from Paris to London in a de Havilland Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner. Jock Wadley, the editor of Sporting Cyclist was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at Le Bourget airport without having brought passports - but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.
Retirement and death
Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.
Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at Port du Crouesty at Quiberon. The Quiberon centre was purchased by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa brand. He fell ill, however, and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town, the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.
Career achievements
Major results
Tour de France
4th overall and 2 stage wins (1948)
3rd overall, 1 stage win and Winner mountains classification (1950)
20th overall and 1 stage win (1951)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1953)
1st overall and 3 stage wins (1954)
1st overall and 2 stage wins (1955)
7th overall (1958)
Giro d'Italia
2nd overall, 1 stage win and leading the general classification for 9 stages (1957)
7th overall, 1 stage win and winner Mountains classification (1951)
Other races
World Road Race Championship (1954)
National Road Championship (1950, 1951)
Milan–San Remo (1951)
Giro di Lombardia (1951)
Critérium International (1951, 1952)
Desgrange-Colombo Trophy (1951)
Paris–Nice (1952)
Grand Prix des Nations (1952)
Tour of Flanders (1955)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955)
Tour de Luxembourg (1955)
Paris–Roubaix (1956)
Bordeaux–Paris (1959)
Critérium des As (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954)
Grand Tour results timeline
See also
Jean Bobet
References
External links
Complete Palmarès
Cycling Hall of Fame Profile
1925 births
1983 deaths
Deaths from cancer in France
French male cyclists
French Tour de France stage winners
French Giro d'Italia stage winners
Sportspeople from Ille-et-Vilaine
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners | true | [
"Bridge to Silence is a 1989 American TV movie starring Lee Remick and Marlee Matlin. It was one of Remick's last performance.\n\nRemick called Matlin \" a wonderful actress. She's so open and kind of instinctive and free . . . curious. It was an interesting experience, which I had some concern about. When I started I thought, you know, what's it going to be like for the two of us to communicate? I do not have sign language at my beck and call. But we did. It was terrific.\"\n\nThe movie was filmed in Toronto and directed by Karen Arthur. It was the first time Remick had worked with a female director. \"Interesting working with a woman,\" she said. \"Not that it's different in terms of her work, she's doing the same thing as men do, but I've just never been in that position. Directors have always been kind of father figures. It's interesting. It's wonderful. She's terrific.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nReview at Los Angeles Times\n\n1989 television films\n1989 films\nAmerican films\nAmerican television films\nAmerican drama films\n1980s English-language films\nAmerican Sign Language films",
"Summoned by Bells is a BBC TV film of John Betjeman's verse autobiography of the same name - \" a unique and touching account of an Edwardian middle-class childhood.\"\n\nIt was first broadcast on Sunday 29 August 1976, the day after the poet laureate's 70th birthday. In the film Betjeman re-visits the places he knew as a child, the houses he grew up in, his schools, his holiday haunts in Cornwall, and his college in Oxford. The film ends with his being sent down from Oxford and enrolling in desperation as a cricket master at a private prep school.\n\nIn an interview given to Radio Times Betjeman spoke about his verse autobiography and the making of the film: \"I always had filthy reviews for it, and I didn't think it very good.\" He recalls that Joe Orton was arrested for defacing books in the public library - among them Summoned by Bells - on which he had stuck a pornographic picture. \"I wrote it thinking it the best way to write about being young. I was thinking about Tennyson's (probably Betjeman's favourite poet) English Idylls and I had been reading Wordsworth's Prelude and I thought why not put down being a schoolmaster and this kind of thing into very plain blank verse. It's the shorter way of writing prose and I think easier. I think people's lives are interesting only up until they're 21. It's our first humiliations and struggles that are very interesting, so I thought I'd record them. I remember the sensual thrills one has as a child, the feeling of textures and the smell of things. I tried to put that down.\"\n\n\"Doing this thing has been the most devastating experience, I had no idea the kind of draining effect it has on one. I was an only child, considered very brilliant by my mother, and considered the future heir to the factory by my father. I mustn't let the men (workers) down, and I was thought to have let them down.\" Betjeman, from childhood, wanted to be a poet. \"Namby-Pamby - that's what my father thought I was and I've always been sympathetic to Ambrose Phillips, the 18th century poet, who was the origin of the phrase namby-pamby. My father was always wanting to be a country gentleman, and trying to get me to do manly sports. I can't bear sport.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nBBC television documentaries\n1976 television films\n1976 films"
]
|
[
"Kim Deal",
"Pixies"
]
| C_c9e4aebf36044e14999678b5d54c6a5a_0 | When did she play with the Pixies? | 1 | When did Kim Deal play with the Pixies? | Kim Deal | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus. CANNOTANSWER | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, | Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs, and Britt Walford. Following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal joined, replacing Tanya Donelly.
Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, with the single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went into hiatus after Deal's sister Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. During that time, she would also return to Pixies when the band reunited in 2004. In 2013, Deal announced she was leaving Pixies to concentrate on making new material with the Breeders, after the band's most famous line-up (Wiggs and Jim Macpherson had rejoined the band for the first time since 1995) had reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's hit album Last Splash.
In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since the release of 1993's Last Splash.
Early life
Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. In high school, at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," Kelley explained. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia", according to Deal. A friend of Kelley's living in California used to send them cassettes of artists like James Blood Ulmer, The Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization."
As a teenager, she formed a folk rock band with her sister. She then became a prolific songwriter, as she found it easier to write songs than cover them. Deal later commented on her songwriting output: "I got like a hundred songs when I was like 16, 17 ... The music is pretty good, but the lyrics are just like, OH MY GOD. We were just trying to figure out how blue rhymes with you. When I was writing them, they didn't have anything to do with who I was." The Deals bought microphones, an eight-track tape recorder, a mixer, speakers, and amps for a bedroom studio. According to Kelley, they "had the whole thing set up by the time we were 17." They later bought a drum machine "so it would feel like we were more in a band."
Following high school, Deal went to seven different colleges, including Ohio State University, but did not graduate from any of them. She eventually received an associate degree in medical technology from Kettering College of Medical Arts and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.
Musical career
Pixies
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect.
For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Deal commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal.
The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.
The Breeders and Pod
During a 1988 post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses as part of the Pixies, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.
The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), containing mostly Deal-written songs, was recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland by Steve Albini. Pod, and especially Deal's contribution, was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked: "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde
Deal returned to the U.S. after finishing recording Pod in Edinburgh, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the band and the other members changed their mind and the four of them began recording the band's next album, Bossanova (1990).
The band's final studio album was Trompe le Monde (1991). The recording sessions were fractious, as the band were hardly ever together during the process.
She rarely sang on the band's songs during this time; one of the few tracks she sang on was a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You". () However, Deal did sing on Trompe le Monde, on songs such as "Alec Eiffel", but did not write any material for the album.
Last Splash and the Breeders
A year after the Pixies' breakup, Deal's identical twin sister Kelley joined the Breeders on lead guitar and the band released its second album, Last Splash, to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success. The record went platinum within a year of its release.
At the height of the Breeders' popularity in the early-mid 1990s, the band scored a number of hit music videos featured heavily on MTV, including "Cannonball", "Safari", "Divine Hammer", and "Saints." The band also released the vinyl-only "Head to Toe" 10" EP during the summer of 1994, when they appeared on the main stage of Lollapalooza. Although the band went into stasis in 1994 when Kelley Deal entered rehab for a heroin addiction, they never officially split up, and in 2002 released Title TK (TK is a copyediting mark meaning "to come" and is often used when editing drafts to indicate missing information).
The Amps and other projects
During this eight-year hiatus, Deal kept busy by forming, recording, and touring with the Amps.
After a few gigs where Deal went by the moniker Tammy Ampersand, The Amps released their single LP, Pacer. The record had an enthusiastic reception from reviewers, but was commercially unsuccessful.
She also produced music for other groups, most notably fellow Dayton band Guided by Voices (one of the songs on Pacer, "I Am Decided", was written by the band's lead singer, Robert Pollard).
Deal has contributed her voice to numerous projects, including This Mortal Coil's 1991 version of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" (a duet with Tanya Donnelly); the 1995 Sonic Youth single "Little Trouble Girl"; and The For Carnation's "Tales (Live from the Crypt)" in 2000.
Pixies reunion and beyond
In 2004, Deal returned to a newly reunited Pixies and toured North America with them. The song "Bam Thwok" was also released that year. One notable performance included a live taping for the public television program Austin City Limits in October 2004. The Pixies also played the Coachella Festival in 2004 and headlined Lollapalooza in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park. The Pixies also toured the UK to critical acclaim including a headline appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2003, Deal moved back to her hometown of Dayton to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles. In April 2009, the Breeders released their third EP, Fate to Fatal. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website.
Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve
In December 2012, Kim Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.
In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, and Australia. In August 2014, it was reported that the same line up were working on new material.
A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".
Discography
Pixies
Come on Pilgrim (EP, 1987)
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Doolittle (1989)
Bossanova (1990)
Trompe le Monde (1991)
The Breeders
Pod (1990)
Safari (EP, 1992)
Last Splash (1993)
Live in Stockholm 1994 (Live album, 1994)
Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
Title TK (2002)
Mountain Battles (2008)
Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
All Nerve (2018)
The Amps
Pacer (1995)
Solo 7" single series
"Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
"Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
"Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
"The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
"Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
Equipment
Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.
Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley, and is heard on Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.
1962 Fender Precision Reissue – Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".
Music Man StingRay – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in the Breeders, and by Luis Lerma in the Amps.
Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".
Gibson Thunderbird – more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies' reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records". It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in the Breeders, and by Kim Deal herself in the video for "Biker Gone" (2014).
Guitars
When playing acoustic guitars for rhythm, Kim Deal prefers distorting their sound through Marshall amps, particularly liking the resulting low end. She also pointed out that it almost does not depend on the acoustic guitar used.
Seagull acoustic
1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
Fender Stratocaster – The particular model Deal plays is a 1991 Strat Ultra. Kelley Deal also has the same model, which she received as a Christmas present from her sister in 1991.
Fender Telecaster has occasionally been played by Kim in the Breeders' live performances since at least the Last Splash era. She was also shown using the guitar on the tourbus in the Pixies documentary film loudQUIETloud (2006).
Gibson hollowbody – Borrowed for use on Last Splash.
Amplification
Peavey 300 Combo, 1×15" speaker
Trace Elliot bass head – Deal said of the amp: "It's the new series and I don't know what the number is or if there even is a number on there."
Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers
SWR heads
Marshall JCM 900 head
Marshall cabinets
Gallien-Krueger cabinet, 4×10" speakers
"Joe's Light" cabinet, 1×18" speaker – Of this and the Gallien-Krueger she commented: "I hate my cabinets."
Sears Tremolo amp with the word 'Marshall' pasted on it.
Effects
dbx 160X Compressor – "I use a compressor live, but only because sound guys seem to like it when I have one onstage, even if it's on bypass."
Boss DS-1 Distortion pedals – Used by both Kim and Kelley.
Recording
Kim Deal uses the "All Wave" philosophy of recording, using no computers, no digital recording, no auto-tuning, nor any other mainstays of contemporary production. The philosophy carries through the entire production and mastering process, including mixing, editing, sequencing, post-production and the exceptional step of an all-analog direct-metal master for the vinyl LP. This process was used on the Breeders' Title TK, the Off You EP, and Mountain Battles.
Deal commissioned the All Wave logo in an effort to identify recordings that follow this method of recording, and possibly start a movement.
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
The Breeders
[ Kim Deal] at AllMusic
1961 births
4AD artists
American atheists
American women guitarists
American women singer-songwriters
American rock bass guitarists
American rock drummers
Identical twins
American experimental musicians
American indie rock musicians
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Pixies (band) members
The Breeders members
American women rock singers
Women bass guitarists
Noise rock musicians
Slide guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
Twin people from the United States
Alternative rock bass guitarists
Alternative rock singers
People from Huber Heights, Ohio
Twin musicians
Guitarists from Ohio
21st-century American women singers
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists | false | [
"\"Velouria\" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis. \"Velouria\" was released as a single in July 1990 and was the band's first UK Top 40 hit. It was included as the third track on their album Bossanova released a month later. The song features extensive use of theremin. It featured on the influential 1990 Madchester compilation album Happy Daze.\n\nLyrics \nBlack Francis said of the lyrics to the song in an interview with SongFacts, \"It's folklore based; the Rosicrucians of 1920s San Jose California had some pretty interesting ideas.\"\n\nComposition \nThe song has been labeled as surf rock and punk rock by critics.\n\nVideo \nAs \"Velouria\" was climbing up the UK Top 40, the band was offered a spot on Top of the Pops. However, a BBC rule stated that only singles with videos could be performed on the show. To counter this, a cheap video was made with the band being filmed running down a quarry.\n\nIn the video, 23 seconds of footage (the time needed for the band members to reach the camera) is slowed in order to last for the duration of the song. However, the effort in filming the video was in vain; Pixies did not play \"Velouria\" on Top of the Pops while the single was in the charts.\n\nIn media \n\"Velouria\" is played in the AMC show Halt and Catch Fire during season 3, episode 9, 'NIM'.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCovers \n 1999 – The song was covered by Weezer in the tribute album Where Is My Mind? A Tribute to the Pixies. This version was praised by Black Francis as his favorite cover of a Pixies song.\n 2004 – Black Francis re-recorded a version of \"Velouria\" with Keith Moliné and Andy Diagram for his album Frank Black Francis.\n 2004 – The Bad Plus covered the song in their album Give.\n 2008 – A cover of the song appeared on Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of the Pixies, part of the Rockabye Baby! series of albums.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences \n\nSources\nFrank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn (2005). Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies. Virgin Books. .\n\nExternal links \n \n \n\n1990 singles\nPixies (band) songs\nSongs written by Black Francis\nElektra Records singles\n4AD singles\nSong recordings produced by Gil Norton\n1990 songs\nUK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles",
"The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band comprised Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, backing vocals) and David Lovering (drums). The band disbanded acrimoniously in 1993 but reunited in 2004. After Deal left in 2013, the Pixies hired Kim Shattuck as a touring bassist; she was replaced the same year by Paz Lenchantin, who became a permanent member in 2016.\n\nThe Pixies are associated with the 1990s alternative rock boom, and draw on elements including punk rock and surf rock. Their music is known for its dynamic \"loud-quiet-loud\" shifts and song structures. Francis is the Pixies' primary songwriter; his often surreal lyrics cover offbeat subjects such as extraterrestrials, incest, and biblical violence. They achieved modest popularity in the US but were more successful in Europe. Their jarring pop sound influenced acts such as Nirvana, Radiohead, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Weezer. Their popularity grew in the years after their break-up, leading to a 2004 reunion and sold-out world tours.\n\nHistory\n\nFormation (1986) \nGuitarist Joey Santiago and songwriter Black Francis (born Charles Michael Kitteridge Thompson IV) met when they lived next to each other in a suite while attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Although Santiago was worried about distractions, he noticed Francis played music and the pair began to jam together. Francis embarked on a student exchange trip to Puerto Rico to study Spanish. After six months, he returned to Amherst and dropped out of the university. Francis and Santiago spent 1984 working in a Boston-area warehouse, with Francis composing songs on his acoustic guitar and writing lyrics on the subway train.\n\nThe pair formed a band in January 1986. Two weeks later, Francis placed an advertisement seeking a bass player who liked both the folk act Peter, Paul and Mary and the alternative rock band Hüsker Dü. Kim Deal was the only respondent, and arrived at the audition without a bass, as she had never played one before. She was invited to join as she liked the songs Francis showed her. She obtained a bass, and the trio started rehearsing in Deal's apartment.\n\nAfter recruiting Deal, Kim paid for her sister, Kelley Deal, to fly to Boston and audition as drummer. Though Francis approved, Kelley was not confident in her drumming, and was more interested in playing songs written by Kim; she later joined Kim's band the Breeders. Kim's husband suggested they hire David Lovering, whom Kim had met at her wedding reception. The group arrived at a name after Santiago selected the word \"pixies\" randomly from a dictionary, liking how it looked and its definition as \"mischievous little elves\". The Pixies moved rehearsals to Lovering's parents' garage in mid-1986 and began to play shows at bars in the Boston area.\n\nCome on Pilgrim (1987) \nWhile the Pixies were playing a concert with Throwing Muses, they were noticed by producer Gary Smith, manager of Fort Apache Studios. He told the band he \"could not sleep until you guys are world famous\". The band produced a 17-track demo at Fort Apache soon afterwards, known to fans as the Purple Tape because of the tape cover's purple background. Funded by Francis' father at the cost of $1000, the recording session was completed in three days. Local promoter Ken Goes became the band's manager, and he passed the demo to Ivo Watts-Russell of the independent record label 4AD. Watts-Russell nearly passed on the band, finding them too normal, \"too rock 'n' roll\", but signed them at the persuasion of his girlfriend.\n\nUpon signing with 4AD, eight tracks from the Purple Tape were selected for the Come on Pilgrim mini-LP, the Pixies' first release. Francis drew upon his experiences in Puerto Rico, mostly in the songs \"Vamos\" and \"Isla de Encanta\", describing the poverty in Puerto Rico and singing in loose Spanish. The religious lyrics in Come on Pilgrim and later albums came from his parents' born-again Christian days in the Pentecostal Church. Critic Heather Phares sees themes such as sexual frustration (\"I've Been Tired\") and incest (\"Nimrod's Son\" and \"The Holiday Song\") on the record.\n\nSurfer Rosa and Doolittle (1988–1989) \nCome on Pilgrim was followed by the Pixies' first full-length album, Surfer Rosa. The album was recorded by Steve Albini (who was hired by Watts-Russell on the advice of a 4AD colleague), completed in two weeks, and released in early 1988. Surfer Rosa gained the Pixies acclaim in Europe; both Melody Maker and Sounds gave Surfer Rosa their \"Album of the Year\" award. American critical response was also positive yet more muted, a reaction that persisted for much of the band's career. The album was eventually certified Gold in the U.S. in 2005. After the album was released, the band arrived in England to support Throwing Muses on the European \"Sex and Death\" tour—beginning at the Mean Fiddler in London. The tour also took them to the Netherlands, where the Pixies had already received enough media attention to be headlining the tour. The tour became notable for the band's in-jokes, such as playing their entire set list in alphabetical order.\n\nMeanwhile, the Pixies signed an American distribution deal with major record label Elektra. Around this time, the Pixies struck up a relationship with the British producer Gil Norton. Norton produced their second full album, Doolittle, which was recorded in the last six weeks of 1988 and seen as a departure from the raw sound of Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Doolittle had a much cleaner sound, largely due to Norton and the production budget of US$40,000, which was quadruple that of Surfer Rosa. Doolittle featured the single \"Here Comes Your Man\", which biographers Josh Frank and Caryn Ganz describe as an unusually jaunty and pop-like song for the band. \"Monkey Gone to Heaven\" was popular on alternative radio in the US, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, and the single entered the Top 100 in the U.K. Like Surfer Rosa, Doolittle was acclaimed by fans and music critics alike. Doolittle was their first album to enter into the Billboard 200, peaking at 98. In the UK, the album was a commercial success, reaching number 8 in the Albums Chart.\n\nHiatus (1989–1990) \nAfter Doolittle, tensions between Deal and Francis came to a head (for example, Francis threw a guitar at Deal during a concert in Stuttgart), and Deal was almost fired from the band when she refused to play at a concert in Frankfurt. Santiago, in an interview with Mojo, described Deal as being \"headstrong and want[ing] to include her own songs, to explore her own world\" on the band's albums; eventually she accepted that Francis was the singer and had musical control of the band, but after the Frankfurt incident, \"they kinda stopped talking\". The band became increasingly tired during the post-Doolittle \"Fuck or Fight\" tour of the United States and fighting among members continued. After the tour's final date in New York City, the band was too exhausted to attend the end-of-tour party the following night and soon announced a hiatus.\n\nDuring this time, Santiago and Lovering went on vacation while Francis performed a short solo tour, made up of a number of concerts to generate gas money as he traveled across the country. Deal formed a new band, the Breeders, with Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses and bass player Josephine Wiggs of Perfect Disaster. Their debut album, Pod, was released in 1990.\n\nBossanova and Trompe le Monde (1990–1992) \nIn 1990, all members of the group except for Deal moved to Los Angeles. Lovering stated that he, Santiago, and Francis moved there \"because the recording studio was there\". Unlike previous recordings, the band had little time to practice beforehand, and Black Francis wrote much of the album in the studio. Featuring the singles \"Velouria\" and \"Dig for Fire\", Bossanova reached number 70 in the United States. In contrast, the album peaked at number three in the United Kingdom. Also in 1990, the Pixies released a cover of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's \"Born in Chicago\" on the compilation album Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary.\n\nThe band continued to tour and released Trompe le Monde in 1991, their final album before their break-up. The album included \"U-Mass\", which has been described as being about college apathy, and whose guitar riff was written years before at the University of Massachusetts before Francis and Santiago dropped out. The album also featured a cover of \"Head On\" by the Jesus and Mary Chain. Also that year, the band contributed a cover of \"I Can't Forget\" to the Leonard Cohen tribute album I'm Your Fan, and began an international tour on which they played stadiums in Europe and smaller venues in the United States. They then signed to be the support act of U2 on the lucrative US leg of the Zoo TV Tour in 1992. Tensions rose among band members, and at the end of the year, the Pixies went on sabbatical and focused on separate projects.\n\nBreakup and solo projects (1993–2003) \nIn early 1993, Francis announced in an interview to BBC Radio 5 that the Pixies were finished, without however telling the other members of the band. He offered no explanation at the time. He later called Santiago and notified Deal and Lovering via fax.\n\nAfter the breakup, the members embarked on separate projects. Black Francis renamed himself Frank Black, and released several solo albums, including a string of releases with Frank Black and the Catholics. Deal returned to the Breeders, who scored a hit with \"Cannonball\" from their platinum-selling Last Splash in 1993, and released more albums several years later. She also formed the Amps, who released one album.\n\nSantiago played lead guitar on a number of Frank Black albums, as well as on other artists' albums. He wrote music for the television show Undeclared and theme music for the film Crime and Punishment in Suburbia. He formed the Martinis with his wife Linda Mallari, and released the album Smitten in 2004. In 2004, he also played lead guitar on the album Statecraft by the novelist and musician Charles Douglas. Lovering became a magician and performed a style of magic he called \"scientific phenomenalism\". He was temporarily a member of the Martinis, and later drummed with the band Cracker.\n\n4AD and Elektra Records continued to release Pixies material: the best-of album Death to the Pixies (1997), the Peel-session compilation Pixies at the BBC (1998), and the Complete 'B' Sides compilation (2001). In 2002, material from the Pixies' original 17-track demo tape was released as an EP, Pixies, on Cooking Vinyl in the U.K. and SpinART Records in the U.S.; Black has also used these labels to release solo work and albums with the Catholics.\n\nReunion (2003–2012) \n\nIn the years following the Pixies' breakup, Black dismissed rumors of a reunion, but incorporated an increasing number of Pixies songs in his sets with the Catholics, and occasionally included Santiago in his solo work and Lovering's magic show as an opening act to concerts. In 2003, a series of phone calls among band members resulted in some low-key rehearsals, and soon the decision to reunite. By February 2004, a full tour was announced, and tickets for nearly all the initial tour dates sold out within minutes.\n\nThe Pixies played their first reunion concert on April 13, 2004, at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A warm-up tour through the U.S. and Canada (in which all dates were recorded and released as individual limited-edition CDs, with some of the performances being released to streaming services in 2021) was followed by an appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The band then spent much of 2004 touring throughout Brazil, Europe, Japan, and the U.S. The group won the Act-of-the-Year award in the 2004 Boston Music Awards. The 2004 reunion tour grossed over $14 million in ticket sales.\n\nIn June 2004, the band released a new song, \"Bam Thwok\" exclusively on the iTunes Music Store; it reached number one in the UK Official Download Chart. 4AD released Wave of Mutilation: The Best of Pixies, along with a companion DVD, Pixies. The band also contributed a rendition of \"Ain't That Pretty at All\" to the Warren Zevon tribute album Enjoy Every Sandwich.\n\nIn 2005, the Pixies made appearances at festivals including Lollapalooza, \"T on the Fringe\", and the Newport Folk Festival. They continued to make appearances through 2006 and 2007, culminating in their first shows in Australia. Francis suggested that a new Pixies studio album was possible, or unlikely, the main obstacle being Deal's reluctance.\n\nTo celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Doolittle, the Pixies launched a tour in October 2009 where they performed the album track-for-track, including the associated B-sides. The tour began in Europe, continued in the United States in November, with the South American and Australian tour following in March 2010, then New Zealand, and more European dates in spring 2010, and back to North America in fall 2010 and into spring 2011.\n\nDeal's departure and Indie Cindy (2013–2015)\n\nOn June 14, 2013, the Pixies announced that Deal had left the band. Two weeks later, the band released a new song, \"Bagboy\", as a free download via the Pixies website. The song features Jeremy Dubs of Bunnies and formerly of the Bennies on vocals in place of Deal.\n\nOn July 1, 2013, the Pixies announced the addition of Muffs and Pandoras guitarist and vocalist Kim Shattuck to replace Deal for their 2013 European tour. On September 3, 2013, the Pixies released an EP of new songs, EP1. On November 29, 2013, Shattuck announced that she had been dismissed from the band. In December 2013, it was announced that Entrance Band and A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin was joining the Pixies for the 2014 tour. More new material surfaced when the Pixies released their second EP, EP2, on January 3, 2014. The single released to radio was \"Blue Eyed Hexe\". Another new EP, EP3, was released on March 24, 2014. All the EPs were only available as downloads and limited edition vinyl.\n\nThe three EPs were collected in LP format and released as the album Indie Cindy in April 2014. The album was the first from the band in over two decades. In 2015, the Pixies toured in support of Robert Plant for a series of dates across North America.\n\nHead Carrier and Beneath the Eyrie (2016–2020)\nIn July 2016, the Pixies announced that Lenchantin had become a permanent member of the band, and that their sixth album, Head Carrier, would release on September 30, 2016. Their seventh album, Beneath the Eyrie, was released on September 13, 2019, backed by lead single \"On Graveyard Hill\". The Pixies released a podcast, It's a Pixies Podcast, documenting the recording of the album.\n\nEighth studio album (2021–present)\nIn February 2022, Black Francis revealed that he had written up to forty songs for the band's next studio album.\n\nStyle \nThe Pixies incorporates elements of surf rock and punk rock, with an emphasis on contrasting volume dynamics. Spin described them as \"surf music-meets-Stooges spikiness and oft-imitated stop/start and quiet/loud dynamics\". Their music has also been pictured as \"an unorthodox marriage of surf music and punk rock, ... characterized by Black's bristling lyrics and hackle-raising caterwaul, Kim Deal's whispered harmonies and waspy basslines, Joey Santiago's fragile guitar, and the persistent flush of David Lovering's drums.\" The band's music incorporates extreme dynamic shifts; Francis explained in 1991, \"Those are the two basic components of rock music ... the dreamy side and the rockin' side. It's always been either sweaty or laid back and cool. We do try to be dynamic, but it's dumbo dynamics, because we don't know how to do anything else. We can play loud or quiet—that's it.\"\n\nInfluences \nThe Pixies are influenced by a range of artists and genres; each member came from a different musical background. When he first started writing songs for the Pixies, Francis says he was listening to nothing but Hüsker Dü, Captain Beefheart, and Iggy Pop; whilst in the run up to recording Come on Pilgrim he listen to R.E.M.'s Murmur a lot, which he described as \"hugely influential\" on his songwriting. During the making of Doolittle he listened heavily to the Beatles' White Album. He has cited Buddy Holly as a model for his compressed songwriting. Francis did not discover punk rock until he was 16, saying \"it was good I didn't listen to these hip records\". As a child, he listened mainly to 1960s songs, religious music and Emerson Lake and Palmer, [...] and Talking Heads, who he says \"weren't punk either\".\n\nSantiago listened to 1970s and 1980s punk including Black Flag, as well as David Bowie and T. Rex. Guitarists who influenced him include Jimi Hendrix, Les Paul, Wes Montgomery, Lou Reed and George Harrison. Deal's musical background was folk music and country; she had formed a country-folk band with her sister in her teenage years, and played covers of artists such as the Everly Brothers and Hank Williams. Other artists Deal listened to included XTC, Gang of Four and Elvis Costello. Lovering is a fan of the band Rush.\n\nOther media such as film has influenced the Pixies; Francis cites surrealist films Eraserhead and Un chien andalou (as mentioned in \"Debaser\") as influences. He has commented on these influences, saying he \"didn't have the patience to sit around reading Surrealist novels\", but found it easier to watch twenty-minute films.\n\nSongwriting and vocals \nMost of the Pixies' songs are composed and sung by Francis. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine has described Francis's writing as containing \"bizarre, fragmented lyrics about space, religion, sex, mutilation, and pop culture\". Biblical violence is a theme of Doolittles \"Dead\" and \"Gouge Away\"; Francis told a Melody Maker interviewer, \"It's all those characters in the Old Testament. I'm obsessed with them. Why it comes out so much I don't know.\" He has described Come on Pilgrims \"Caribou\" as being about reincarnation, and extraterrestrial themes appear in a number of songs on Bossanova.\n\nDeal co-wrote Doolittles \"Silver\" with Francis, and they share lead harmony vocals on the track. She also co-wrote and sang lead vocals on Surfer Rosas \"Gigantic\", and is the sole songwriter of the 2004 digital single \"Bam Thwok\". She was credited as Mrs. John Murphy on \"Gigantic\"—at the time she was married, and she used this name as an ironic feminist joke. She also sang lead vocals on the song \"Into the White\" and the Neil Young cover \"Winterlong\", which were both B-sides. Lovering sang lead vocals on Doolittles \"La La Love You\" and the B-side \"Make Believe\". Most recently, Lenchantin made her lead vocal debut on Head Carriers \"All I Think About Now\". She also provided lead vocals on \"Los Surfers Muertos\", from 2019's Beneath The Eyrie and the 2020 September single \"Hear Me Out\".\n\nLegacy \nThe Pixies first album Surfer Rosa is certified gold, while Doolittle hit platinum status, selling over 1 million copies. The band influenced a number of musicians associated with the alternative rock boom of the 1990s. Gary Smith, who produced their Come on Pilgrim, commented on the band's influence on alternative rock and their legacy in 1997:\n\nI've heard it said about the Velvet Underground that while not a lot of people bought their albums, everyone who did started a band. I think this is largely true about Pixies as well. Charles' secret weapon turned out to be not so secret and, sooner or later, all sorts of bands were exploiting the same strategy of wide dynamics. It became a kind of new pop formula and, within a short while, \"Smells Like Teen Spirit\" was charging up the charts and even the members of Nirvana said later that it sounded for all the world like a Pixies song.\n\nSonically, the Pixies are credited with popularizing the extreme dynamics and stop-start timing that would become widespread in alternative rock; the Pixies songs typically feature hushed, restrained verses, and explosive, wailing choruses. Artists including David Bowie, Matt Noveskey, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, U2, Nirvana, The Strokes, Alice in Chains, Weezer, Bush, Arcade Fire, Pavement, Everclear, Kings of Leon and Matthew Good have cited admiration of or influence by the Pixies. Bono of U2 has called the Pixies \"one of America's greatest bands ever\", and Radiohead's Thom Yorke said that the Pixies \"changed my life\". Bowie, whose own music had inspired Francis and Santiago while they were at university, has said that the Pixies made \"just about the most compelling music of the entire 80s.\"\n\nOne notable citation as an influence was by Kurt Cobain, on influencing Nirvana's \"Smells Like Teen Spirit\", which he admitted was a conscious attempt to co-opt the Pixies' style. In a January 1994 interview with Rolling Stone, he said, \"I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it [smiles]. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band—or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.\" Cobain cited Surfer Rosa as one of his main musical influences, and particularly admired the album's natural and powerful drum sounds—a result of Steve Albini's influence on the record. Albini later produced Nirvana's 1993 In Utero at the request of Cobain.\n\nMusic videos and DVDs \nNo music videos were released from Come on Pilgrim or Surfer Rosa, but from Doolittle onwards, the following videos were made: \"Monkey Gone To Heaven\", \"Here Comes Your Man\", \"Velouria\", \"Dig For Fire\", \"Allison\", \"Alec Eiffel\", \"Head On\", and \"Debaser\"; these were later released on the 2004 DVD Pixies. Furthermore, a music video accompanied the release of their 2013 song, \"Bagboy\", as well an alternate video released on a later date. Videos have been made for all the songs in EP1. The videos for \"Here Comes Your Man\" and \"Allison\" were also released on The Complete 'B' Sides.\n\nBy Bossanova, the band had developed a severe aversion to recording music videos, and Francis refused to lip-sync to them. For example, in the \"Here Comes Your Man\" video, both Black and Deal open their mouths wide instead of mouthing their lyrics. According to the record label, this became one of the reasons that the Pixies never achieved major coverage on MTV. With Bossanovas release, 4AD hoped to get the Pixies chosen to perform their single \"Velouria\" on the BBC's Top of the Pops. To this end, the band was pressured into producing a video for the song, and made one cheaply with the band members filmed running down a quarry, shown in slow motion. The group was ultimately not given a spot on the show.\n\nThe 90-minute documentary loudQUIETloud: a film about the Pixies was directed by Steven Cantor and Matthew Galkin and released in 2006. The film documents their 2004 reunion and tour, and covers the years after the break-up. In addition to Pixies and LoudQUIETloud, four other Pixies' DVDs were released between 2004 and 2006, all featuring concert performances: Live at the Town and Country Club 1988, The Pixies—Sell Out, The Pixies Acoustic: Live in Newport, and The Pixies Club Date: Live at the Paradise in Boston.\n\nBand members\n\nCurrent members \nBlack Francis – vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar (1986–1993, 2004–present)\nDavid Lovering – drums, percussion (1986–1993, 2004–present), backing vocals (1989–1991)\nJoey Santiago – lead guitar (1986–1993, 2004–present), backing vocals (1989)\nPaz Lenchantin – bass, violin, vocals (2014–present)\n\nFormer members\nKim Deal – bass, vocals (1986–1993, 2004–2013)\nKim Shattuck – bass, vocals (2013; died 2019)\n\nTimeline\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n Surfer Rosa (1988)\n Doolittle (1989)\n Bossanova (1990)\n Trompe le Monde (1991)\n Indie Cindy (2014)\n Head Carrier (2016)\n Beneath the Eyrie (2019)\n\nSee also \n\n List of alternative rock artists\n List of songs recorded by Pixies\n Music of Massachusetts\n Music of the United States (1980s to the present)\n\nFootnotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n \n \n\n \n4AD artists\nAlternative rock groups from Massachusetts\nMusical groups established in 1986\nMusical groups disestablished in 1993\nMusical groups reestablished in 2004\nMusical groups from Boston\nMusical groups from Massachusetts\n1986 establishments in Massachusetts\nPIAS Recordings artists\nSonic Unyon artists\nElektra Records artists\nCooking Vinyl artists\nSpinART Records artists"
]
|
[
"Kim Deal",
"Pixies",
"When did she play with the Pixies?",
"Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986,"
]
| C_c9e4aebf36044e14999678b5d54c6a5a_0 | Did the release any albums? | 2 | Did the Pixies release any albums? | Kim Deal | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus. CANNOTANSWER | For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim | Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs, and Britt Walford. Following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal joined, replacing Tanya Donelly.
Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, with the single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went into hiatus after Deal's sister Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. During that time, she would also return to Pixies when the band reunited in 2004. In 2013, Deal announced she was leaving Pixies to concentrate on making new material with the Breeders, after the band's most famous line-up (Wiggs and Jim Macpherson had rejoined the band for the first time since 1995) had reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's hit album Last Splash.
In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since the release of 1993's Last Splash.
Early life
Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. In high school, at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," Kelley explained. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia", according to Deal. A friend of Kelley's living in California used to send them cassettes of artists like James Blood Ulmer, The Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization."
As a teenager, she formed a folk rock band with her sister. She then became a prolific songwriter, as she found it easier to write songs than cover them. Deal later commented on her songwriting output: "I got like a hundred songs when I was like 16, 17 ... The music is pretty good, but the lyrics are just like, OH MY GOD. We were just trying to figure out how blue rhymes with you. When I was writing them, they didn't have anything to do with who I was." The Deals bought microphones, an eight-track tape recorder, a mixer, speakers, and amps for a bedroom studio. According to Kelley, they "had the whole thing set up by the time we were 17." They later bought a drum machine "so it would feel like we were more in a band."
Following high school, Deal went to seven different colleges, including Ohio State University, but did not graduate from any of them. She eventually received an associate degree in medical technology from Kettering College of Medical Arts and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.
Musical career
Pixies
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect.
For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Deal commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal.
The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.
The Breeders and Pod
During a 1988 post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses as part of the Pixies, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.
The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), containing mostly Deal-written songs, was recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland by Steve Albini. Pod, and especially Deal's contribution, was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked: "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde
Deal returned to the U.S. after finishing recording Pod in Edinburgh, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the band and the other members changed their mind and the four of them began recording the band's next album, Bossanova (1990).
The band's final studio album was Trompe le Monde (1991). The recording sessions were fractious, as the band were hardly ever together during the process.
She rarely sang on the band's songs during this time; one of the few tracks she sang on was a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You". () However, Deal did sing on Trompe le Monde, on songs such as "Alec Eiffel", but did not write any material for the album.
Last Splash and the Breeders
A year after the Pixies' breakup, Deal's identical twin sister Kelley joined the Breeders on lead guitar and the band released its second album, Last Splash, to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success. The record went platinum within a year of its release.
At the height of the Breeders' popularity in the early-mid 1990s, the band scored a number of hit music videos featured heavily on MTV, including "Cannonball", "Safari", "Divine Hammer", and "Saints." The band also released the vinyl-only "Head to Toe" 10" EP during the summer of 1994, when they appeared on the main stage of Lollapalooza. Although the band went into stasis in 1994 when Kelley Deal entered rehab for a heroin addiction, they never officially split up, and in 2002 released Title TK (TK is a copyediting mark meaning "to come" and is often used when editing drafts to indicate missing information).
The Amps and other projects
During this eight-year hiatus, Deal kept busy by forming, recording, and touring with the Amps.
After a few gigs where Deal went by the moniker Tammy Ampersand, The Amps released their single LP, Pacer. The record had an enthusiastic reception from reviewers, but was commercially unsuccessful.
She also produced music for other groups, most notably fellow Dayton band Guided by Voices (one of the songs on Pacer, "I Am Decided", was written by the band's lead singer, Robert Pollard).
Deal has contributed her voice to numerous projects, including This Mortal Coil's 1991 version of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" (a duet with Tanya Donnelly); the 1995 Sonic Youth single "Little Trouble Girl"; and The For Carnation's "Tales (Live from the Crypt)" in 2000.
Pixies reunion and beyond
In 2004, Deal returned to a newly reunited Pixies and toured North America with them. The song "Bam Thwok" was also released that year. One notable performance included a live taping for the public television program Austin City Limits in October 2004. The Pixies also played the Coachella Festival in 2004 and headlined Lollapalooza in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park. The Pixies also toured the UK to critical acclaim including a headline appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2003, Deal moved back to her hometown of Dayton to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles. In April 2009, the Breeders released their third EP, Fate to Fatal. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website.
Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve
In December 2012, Kim Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.
In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, and Australia. In August 2014, it was reported that the same line up were working on new material.
A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".
Discography
Pixies
Come on Pilgrim (EP, 1987)
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Doolittle (1989)
Bossanova (1990)
Trompe le Monde (1991)
The Breeders
Pod (1990)
Safari (EP, 1992)
Last Splash (1993)
Live in Stockholm 1994 (Live album, 1994)
Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
Title TK (2002)
Mountain Battles (2008)
Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
All Nerve (2018)
The Amps
Pacer (1995)
Solo 7" single series
"Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
"Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
"Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
"The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
"Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
Equipment
Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.
Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley, and is heard on Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.
1962 Fender Precision Reissue – Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".
Music Man StingRay – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in the Breeders, and by Luis Lerma in the Amps.
Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".
Gibson Thunderbird – more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies' reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records". It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in the Breeders, and by Kim Deal herself in the video for "Biker Gone" (2014).
Guitars
When playing acoustic guitars for rhythm, Kim Deal prefers distorting their sound through Marshall amps, particularly liking the resulting low end. She also pointed out that it almost does not depend on the acoustic guitar used.
Seagull acoustic
1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
Fender Stratocaster – The particular model Deal plays is a 1991 Strat Ultra. Kelley Deal also has the same model, which she received as a Christmas present from her sister in 1991.
Fender Telecaster has occasionally been played by Kim in the Breeders' live performances since at least the Last Splash era. She was also shown using the guitar on the tourbus in the Pixies documentary film loudQUIETloud (2006).
Gibson hollowbody – Borrowed for use on Last Splash.
Amplification
Peavey 300 Combo, 1×15" speaker
Trace Elliot bass head – Deal said of the amp: "It's the new series and I don't know what the number is or if there even is a number on there."
Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers
SWR heads
Marshall JCM 900 head
Marshall cabinets
Gallien-Krueger cabinet, 4×10" speakers
"Joe's Light" cabinet, 1×18" speaker – Of this and the Gallien-Krueger she commented: "I hate my cabinets."
Sears Tremolo amp with the word 'Marshall' pasted on it.
Effects
dbx 160X Compressor – "I use a compressor live, but only because sound guys seem to like it when I have one onstage, even if it's on bypass."
Boss DS-1 Distortion pedals – Used by both Kim and Kelley.
Recording
Kim Deal uses the "All Wave" philosophy of recording, using no computers, no digital recording, no auto-tuning, nor any other mainstays of contemporary production. The philosophy carries through the entire production and mastering process, including mixing, editing, sequencing, post-production and the exceptional step of an all-analog direct-metal master for the vinyl LP. This process was used on the Breeders' Title TK, the Off You EP, and Mountain Battles.
Deal commissioned the All Wave logo in an effort to identify recordings that follow this method of recording, and possibly start a movement.
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
The Breeders
[ Kim Deal] at AllMusic
1961 births
4AD artists
American atheists
American women guitarists
American women singer-songwriters
American rock bass guitarists
American rock drummers
Identical twins
American experimental musicians
American indie rock musicians
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Pixies (band) members
The Breeders members
American women rock singers
Women bass guitarists
Noise rock musicians
Slide guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
Twin people from the United States
Alternative rock bass guitarists
Alternative rock singers
People from Huber Heights, Ohio
Twin musicians
Guitarists from Ohio
21st-century American women singers
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists | true | [
"World Famous Classics: 1993–1998 is the first of three greatest hits albums by hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Sony BMG in 1999 two weeks after the release of The Beatnuts' most commercially successful album, A Musical Massacre. It contains songs from The Beatnuts' first three albums, as well as its two EPs. The album does not feature any exclusive songs. World Famous Classics did not chart upon release, and is currently out of print.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nThe Beatnuts albums\n1999 greatest hits albums",
"West Coast Bad Boyz, Vol. 1: Anotha Level of the Game is the first compilation album released by No Limit Records. It was originally released on August 9, 1994, but was later re-released on July 22, 1997. Due to it being a re-release, the album couldn't make it to the Billboard 200 or any other regular charts, but it did make it to #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Albums. Due to a beef between Master P and King George, Two songs that featured George [Locked Up and Peace 2 Da Streets] were not included on the 1997 re-release.\n\nTrack listing \nWest Coast Bad Boyz, Vol. 1: Anotha Level of the Game\n\nReferences\n\nHip hop compilation albums\n1994 compilation albums\nNo Limit Records compilation albums\nPriority Records compilation albums\nGangsta rap compilation albums"
]
|
[
"Kim Deal",
"Pixies",
"When did she play with the Pixies?",
"Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986,",
"Did the release any albums?",
"For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim"
]
| C_c9e4aebf36044e14999678b5d54c6a5a_0 | Was the album successful? | 3 | Was the Pixies album Come on Pilgrim successful? | Kim Deal | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs, and Britt Walford. Following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal joined, replacing Tanya Donelly.
Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, with the single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went into hiatus after Deal's sister Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. During that time, she would also return to Pixies when the band reunited in 2004. In 2013, Deal announced she was leaving Pixies to concentrate on making new material with the Breeders, after the band's most famous line-up (Wiggs and Jim Macpherson had rejoined the band for the first time since 1995) had reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's hit album Last Splash.
In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since the release of 1993's Last Splash.
Early life
Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. In high school, at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," Kelley explained. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia", according to Deal. A friend of Kelley's living in California used to send them cassettes of artists like James Blood Ulmer, The Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization."
As a teenager, she formed a folk rock band with her sister. She then became a prolific songwriter, as she found it easier to write songs than cover them. Deal later commented on her songwriting output: "I got like a hundred songs when I was like 16, 17 ... The music is pretty good, but the lyrics are just like, OH MY GOD. We were just trying to figure out how blue rhymes with you. When I was writing them, they didn't have anything to do with who I was." The Deals bought microphones, an eight-track tape recorder, a mixer, speakers, and amps for a bedroom studio. According to Kelley, they "had the whole thing set up by the time we were 17." They later bought a drum machine "so it would feel like we were more in a band."
Following high school, Deal went to seven different colleges, including Ohio State University, but did not graduate from any of them. She eventually received an associate degree in medical technology from Kettering College of Medical Arts and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.
Musical career
Pixies
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect.
For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Deal commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal.
The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.
The Breeders and Pod
During a 1988 post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses as part of the Pixies, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.
The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), containing mostly Deal-written songs, was recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland by Steve Albini. Pod, and especially Deal's contribution, was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked: "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde
Deal returned to the U.S. after finishing recording Pod in Edinburgh, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the band and the other members changed their mind and the four of them began recording the band's next album, Bossanova (1990).
The band's final studio album was Trompe le Monde (1991). The recording sessions were fractious, as the band were hardly ever together during the process.
She rarely sang on the band's songs during this time; one of the few tracks she sang on was a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You". () However, Deal did sing on Trompe le Monde, on songs such as "Alec Eiffel", but did not write any material for the album.
Last Splash and the Breeders
A year after the Pixies' breakup, Deal's identical twin sister Kelley joined the Breeders on lead guitar and the band released its second album, Last Splash, to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success. The record went platinum within a year of its release.
At the height of the Breeders' popularity in the early-mid 1990s, the band scored a number of hit music videos featured heavily on MTV, including "Cannonball", "Safari", "Divine Hammer", and "Saints." The band also released the vinyl-only "Head to Toe" 10" EP during the summer of 1994, when they appeared on the main stage of Lollapalooza. Although the band went into stasis in 1994 when Kelley Deal entered rehab for a heroin addiction, they never officially split up, and in 2002 released Title TK (TK is a copyediting mark meaning "to come" and is often used when editing drafts to indicate missing information).
The Amps and other projects
During this eight-year hiatus, Deal kept busy by forming, recording, and touring with the Amps.
After a few gigs where Deal went by the moniker Tammy Ampersand, The Amps released their single LP, Pacer. The record had an enthusiastic reception from reviewers, but was commercially unsuccessful.
She also produced music for other groups, most notably fellow Dayton band Guided by Voices (one of the songs on Pacer, "I Am Decided", was written by the band's lead singer, Robert Pollard).
Deal has contributed her voice to numerous projects, including This Mortal Coil's 1991 version of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" (a duet with Tanya Donnelly); the 1995 Sonic Youth single "Little Trouble Girl"; and The For Carnation's "Tales (Live from the Crypt)" in 2000.
Pixies reunion and beyond
In 2004, Deal returned to a newly reunited Pixies and toured North America with them. The song "Bam Thwok" was also released that year. One notable performance included a live taping for the public television program Austin City Limits in October 2004. The Pixies also played the Coachella Festival in 2004 and headlined Lollapalooza in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park. The Pixies also toured the UK to critical acclaim including a headline appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2003, Deal moved back to her hometown of Dayton to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles. In April 2009, the Breeders released their third EP, Fate to Fatal. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website.
Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve
In December 2012, Kim Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.
In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, and Australia. In August 2014, it was reported that the same line up were working on new material.
A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".
Discography
Pixies
Come on Pilgrim (EP, 1987)
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Doolittle (1989)
Bossanova (1990)
Trompe le Monde (1991)
The Breeders
Pod (1990)
Safari (EP, 1992)
Last Splash (1993)
Live in Stockholm 1994 (Live album, 1994)
Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
Title TK (2002)
Mountain Battles (2008)
Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
All Nerve (2018)
The Amps
Pacer (1995)
Solo 7" single series
"Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
"Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
"Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
"The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
"Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
Equipment
Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.
Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley, and is heard on Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.
1962 Fender Precision Reissue – Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".
Music Man StingRay – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in the Breeders, and by Luis Lerma in the Amps.
Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".
Gibson Thunderbird – more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies' reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records". It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in the Breeders, and by Kim Deal herself in the video for "Biker Gone" (2014).
Guitars
When playing acoustic guitars for rhythm, Kim Deal prefers distorting their sound through Marshall amps, particularly liking the resulting low end. She also pointed out that it almost does not depend on the acoustic guitar used.
Seagull acoustic
1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
Fender Stratocaster – The particular model Deal plays is a 1991 Strat Ultra. Kelley Deal also has the same model, which she received as a Christmas present from her sister in 1991.
Fender Telecaster has occasionally been played by Kim in the Breeders' live performances since at least the Last Splash era. She was also shown using the guitar on the tourbus in the Pixies documentary film loudQUIETloud (2006).
Gibson hollowbody – Borrowed for use on Last Splash.
Amplification
Peavey 300 Combo, 1×15" speaker
Trace Elliot bass head – Deal said of the amp: "It's the new series and I don't know what the number is or if there even is a number on there."
Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers
SWR heads
Marshall JCM 900 head
Marshall cabinets
Gallien-Krueger cabinet, 4×10" speakers
"Joe's Light" cabinet, 1×18" speaker – Of this and the Gallien-Krueger she commented: "I hate my cabinets."
Sears Tremolo amp with the word 'Marshall' pasted on it.
Effects
dbx 160X Compressor – "I use a compressor live, but only because sound guys seem to like it when I have one onstage, even if it's on bypass."
Boss DS-1 Distortion pedals – Used by both Kim and Kelley.
Recording
Kim Deal uses the "All Wave" philosophy of recording, using no computers, no digital recording, no auto-tuning, nor any other mainstays of contemporary production. The philosophy carries through the entire production and mastering process, including mixing, editing, sequencing, post-production and the exceptional step of an all-analog direct-metal master for the vinyl LP. This process was used on the Breeders' Title TK, the Off You EP, and Mountain Battles.
Deal commissioned the All Wave logo in an effort to identify recordings that follow this method of recording, and possibly start a movement.
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
The Breeders
[ Kim Deal] at AllMusic
1961 births
4AD artists
American atheists
American women guitarists
American women singer-songwriters
American rock bass guitarists
American rock drummers
Identical twins
American experimental musicians
American indie rock musicians
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Pixies (band) members
The Breeders members
American women rock singers
Women bass guitarists
Noise rock musicians
Slide guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
Twin people from the United States
Alternative rock bass guitarists
Alternative rock singers
People from Huber Heights, Ohio
Twin musicians
Guitarists from Ohio
21st-century American women singers
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists | false | [
"Maria Arredondo is the first album by Norwegian singer Maria Arredondo, released in Norway on March 17, 2003, with a second edition released on June 30, 2003. The album was the most successful album by Arredondo either in critics or sales. It has 12 songs with the second edition and 5 singles were released. One of the singles, \"In Love With An Angel\", a duet with Christian Ingebrigtsen, was nominated for the 2003 Norwegian Grammy Awards as 'Song Of The Year'.\n\nHistory \nAfter two years recording the songs, Arredondo signed with Universal Music Norway. The album entered the Norwegian Top 40 and Norwegian Topp 30 Norsk at #2 and spent 23 weeks on the charts. It was recorded in Sweden and Norway, and was produced by several well-known Scandinavian producers such as Jonas von Der Burg, Espen Lind, Bluefish, Jonny Sjo, Harry Sommerdahl and Bjørn Erik Pedersen. Several successful songwriters also contributed, including Christian Ingebrigtsen, Jonas von Der Burg, Silje Nergaard, Espen Lind and Harry Sommerdahl. The first single released was \"Can Let Go\". The second single, \"Just A Little Heartache\" was very successful in the radio charts. \"In Love With An Angel\" was the third single and became the first and only #1 single for Arredondo.\n\nThe album was re-released with a new song, \"Hardly Hurts At All\", which was released as a single. The last single from the album was \"A Thousand Nights\". The album went platinum and sold more than 70,000 copies.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nAlbum\n\nSingles\n\nReferences \n\n2003 debut albums\nMaria Arredondo albums\nUniversal Music Norway albums",
"Black and White is the second studio album and major label debut by British hip hop recording artist Wretch 32. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2011 through Ministry of Sound, debuting at number four on the UK Albums Chart with first week sales of nearly 25,000 copies. The album follows his independent debut album, Wretchrospective, which was released three years earlier, in 2008. The album spawned six singles over the course of eighteen months, all of which peaked inside the UK top 50, including three top five singles, and a number one single, \"Don't Go\". The album includes collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Daley, Etta Bond and Example.\n\nSingles\n \"Traktor\" was released as the first single released from the album on 16 January 2011. It peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the third most successful single from the album. The track features vocals from L Marshall and was produced by Yogi.\n \"Unorthodox\" was released as the second single from the album on 17 April 2011. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the second most successful single from the album. The track features vocals from Example.\n \"Don't Go\" was released as the third single from the album on 14 August 2011. It peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the album's most successful single. The track features vocals from upcoming musician and songwriter Josh Kumra.\n \"Forgiveness\" was released as the fourth single from the album on 11 December 2011. It peaked at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the least successful single from the album. The track features vocals from Etta Bond, and was produced by Labrinth.\n \"Long Way Home\" was released as a single from the album on 14 February 2012, in promotion of the track's featuring artist, Daley. It was ineligible to chart on the UK Singles Chart, and was simply released in the form of a promotional music video.\n \"Hush Little Baby\" was released as the fifth and final single from the album on 27 May 2012. It peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart, due to little promotion. The track features vocals from singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.\n\nTrack listing \n\nNotes\n \"Forgiveness\" features uncredited vocals from Labrinth.\n\nSample credits\n \"Black and White\" samples \"Different Strokes\" by Syl Johnson\n \"Unorthodox\" samples \"Fools Gold\" by The Stone Roses.\n \"Hush Little Baby\" adapts lyrics from the lullaby \"Hush, Little Baby\".\n\nCharts\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2011 albums\nWretch 32 albums\nMinistry of Sound albums\nAlbums produced by Labrinth"
]
|
[
"Kim Deal",
"Pixies",
"When did she play with the Pixies?",
"Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986,",
"Did the release any albums?",
"For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim",
"Was the album successful?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_c9e4aebf36044e14999678b5d54c6a5a_0 | Did they have any other albums? | 4 | Did the Pixies have any other albums besides Come on Pilgrim? | Kim Deal | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus. CANNOTANSWER | Surfer Rosa (1988), | Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs, and Britt Walford. Following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal joined, replacing Tanya Donelly.
Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, with the single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went into hiatus after Deal's sister Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. During that time, she would also return to Pixies when the band reunited in 2004. In 2013, Deal announced she was leaving Pixies to concentrate on making new material with the Breeders, after the band's most famous line-up (Wiggs and Jim Macpherson had rejoined the band for the first time since 1995) had reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's hit album Last Splash.
In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since the release of 1993's Last Splash.
Early life
Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. In high school, at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," Kelley explained. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia", according to Deal. A friend of Kelley's living in California used to send them cassettes of artists like James Blood Ulmer, The Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization."
As a teenager, she formed a folk rock band with her sister. She then became a prolific songwriter, as she found it easier to write songs than cover them. Deal later commented on her songwriting output: "I got like a hundred songs when I was like 16, 17 ... The music is pretty good, but the lyrics are just like, OH MY GOD. We were just trying to figure out how blue rhymes with you. When I was writing them, they didn't have anything to do with who I was." The Deals bought microphones, an eight-track tape recorder, a mixer, speakers, and amps for a bedroom studio. According to Kelley, they "had the whole thing set up by the time we were 17." They later bought a drum machine "so it would feel like we were more in a band."
Following high school, Deal went to seven different colleges, including Ohio State University, but did not graduate from any of them. She eventually received an associate degree in medical technology from Kettering College of Medical Arts and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.
Musical career
Pixies
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect.
For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Deal commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal.
The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.
The Breeders and Pod
During a 1988 post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses as part of the Pixies, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.
The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), containing mostly Deal-written songs, was recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland by Steve Albini. Pod, and especially Deal's contribution, was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked: "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde
Deal returned to the U.S. after finishing recording Pod in Edinburgh, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the band and the other members changed their mind and the four of them began recording the band's next album, Bossanova (1990).
The band's final studio album was Trompe le Monde (1991). The recording sessions were fractious, as the band were hardly ever together during the process.
She rarely sang on the band's songs during this time; one of the few tracks she sang on was a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You". () However, Deal did sing on Trompe le Monde, on songs such as "Alec Eiffel", but did not write any material for the album.
Last Splash and the Breeders
A year after the Pixies' breakup, Deal's identical twin sister Kelley joined the Breeders on lead guitar and the band released its second album, Last Splash, to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success. The record went platinum within a year of its release.
At the height of the Breeders' popularity in the early-mid 1990s, the band scored a number of hit music videos featured heavily on MTV, including "Cannonball", "Safari", "Divine Hammer", and "Saints." The band also released the vinyl-only "Head to Toe" 10" EP during the summer of 1994, when they appeared on the main stage of Lollapalooza. Although the band went into stasis in 1994 when Kelley Deal entered rehab for a heroin addiction, they never officially split up, and in 2002 released Title TK (TK is a copyediting mark meaning "to come" and is often used when editing drafts to indicate missing information).
The Amps and other projects
During this eight-year hiatus, Deal kept busy by forming, recording, and touring with the Amps.
After a few gigs where Deal went by the moniker Tammy Ampersand, The Amps released their single LP, Pacer. The record had an enthusiastic reception from reviewers, but was commercially unsuccessful.
She also produced music for other groups, most notably fellow Dayton band Guided by Voices (one of the songs on Pacer, "I Am Decided", was written by the band's lead singer, Robert Pollard).
Deal has contributed her voice to numerous projects, including This Mortal Coil's 1991 version of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" (a duet with Tanya Donnelly); the 1995 Sonic Youth single "Little Trouble Girl"; and The For Carnation's "Tales (Live from the Crypt)" in 2000.
Pixies reunion and beyond
In 2004, Deal returned to a newly reunited Pixies and toured North America with them. The song "Bam Thwok" was also released that year. One notable performance included a live taping for the public television program Austin City Limits in October 2004. The Pixies also played the Coachella Festival in 2004 and headlined Lollapalooza in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park. The Pixies also toured the UK to critical acclaim including a headline appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2003, Deal moved back to her hometown of Dayton to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles. In April 2009, the Breeders released their third EP, Fate to Fatal. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website.
Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve
In December 2012, Kim Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.
In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, and Australia. In August 2014, it was reported that the same line up were working on new material.
A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".
Discography
Pixies
Come on Pilgrim (EP, 1987)
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Doolittle (1989)
Bossanova (1990)
Trompe le Monde (1991)
The Breeders
Pod (1990)
Safari (EP, 1992)
Last Splash (1993)
Live in Stockholm 1994 (Live album, 1994)
Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
Title TK (2002)
Mountain Battles (2008)
Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
All Nerve (2018)
The Amps
Pacer (1995)
Solo 7" single series
"Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
"Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
"Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
"The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
"Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
Equipment
Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.
Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley, and is heard on Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.
1962 Fender Precision Reissue – Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".
Music Man StingRay – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in the Breeders, and by Luis Lerma in the Amps.
Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".
Gibson Thunderbird – more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies' reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records". It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in the Breeders, and by Kim Deal herself in the video for "Biker Gone" (2014).
Guitars
When playing acoustic guitars for rhythm, Kim Deal prefers distorting their sound through Marshall amps, particularly liking the resulting low end. She also pointed out that it almost does not depend on the acoustic guitar used.
Seagull acoustic
1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
Fender Stratocaster – The particular model Deal plays is a 1991 Strat Ultra. Kelley Deal also has the same model, which she received as a Christmas present from her sister in 1991.
Fender Telecaster has occasionally been played by Kim in the Breeders' live performances since at least the Last Splash era. She was also shown using the guitar on the tourbus in the Pixies documentary film loudQUIETloud (2006).
Gibson hollowbody – Borrowed for use on Last Splash.
Amplification
Peavey 300 Combo, 1×15" speaker
Trace Elliot bass head – Deal said of the amp: "It's the new series and I don't know what the number is or if there even is a number on there."
Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers
SWR heads
Marshall JCM 900 head
Marshall cabinets
Gallien-Krueger cabinet, 4×10" speakers
"Joe's Light" cabinet, 1×18" speaker – Of this and the Gallien-Krueger she commented: "I hate my cabinets."
Sears Tremolo amp with the word 'Marshall' pasted on it.
Effects
dbx 160X Compressor – "I use a compressor live, but only because sound guys seem to like it when I have one onstage, even if it's on bypass."
Boss DS-1 Distortion pedals – Used by both Kim and Kelley.
Recording
Kim Deal uses the "All Wave" philosophy of recording, using no computers, no digital recording, no auto-tuning, nor any other mainstays of contemporary production. The philosophy carries through the entire production and mastering process, including mixing, editing, sequencing, post-production and the exceptional step of an all-analog direct-metal master for the vinyl LP. This process was used on the Breeders' Title TK, the Off You EP, and Mountain Battles.
Deal commissioned the All Wave logo in an effort to identify recordings that follow this method of recording, and possibly start a movement.
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
The Breeders
[ Kim Deal] at AllMusic
1961 births
4AD artists
American atheists
American women guitarists
American women singer-songwriters
American rock bass guitarists
American rock drummers
Identical twins
American experimental musicians
American indie rock musicians
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Pixies (band) members
The Breeders members
American women rock singers
Women bass guitarists
Noise rock musicians
Slide guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
Twin people from the United States
Alternative rock bass guitarists
Alternative rock singers
People from Huber Heights, Ohio
Twin musicians
Guitarists from Ohio
21st-century American women singers
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists | true | [
"The discography of Mallu Magalhães, a Brazilian Folk singer, consists of two studio albums, one live albums, five singles as a lead artist, one collaborations with Marcelo Camelo and one video albums.\n\nIn 2008 she released her first eponymous album and in 2009 she released her second album, also self-titled.\n\nShe already has five singles released, and the most famous is Tchubaruba.\n\nAlbums\n\nStudio albums\n\nCompilations\n\nVideo albums\n\nNotes\n These albums did not reach any of the charts in Brazil.\n\nSingles\n\nAs lead artist\n\nOther appearances\n\nNotes\n These albums did not reach any of the charts in Brazil.\n\nMusic videos \n J1 (2008)\n Tchubaruba (2008)\n O Preço da Flor (2009)\n Vanguart (2009)\n Shine Yellow (2009)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nMallu Magalhães's official website\nMallu Magalhães's official MySpace\n\nFolk music discographies\nDiscography\nDiscographies of Brazilian artists\nLatin music discographies",
"This is the discography of the hard rock band Magnum, which is headed by vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin. Originally formed around 1972 they released their first single in 1975 (a cover of Sweets for My Sweet that did not chart) and their first album Kingdom of Madness in 1978. They continued recording and releasing albums until 1995 when they split. However, they re-formed in 2001 and have released albums every few years since. Many compilations and live albums were released in the gap, as well as Bob and Tony forming Hard Rain before re-forming Magnum with long-time keyboard player Mark Stanway.\n\nStudio albums\n\nLive albums\n\nCompilation albums\n\nThere have also been many other compilations across various labels.\n\nCharted singles\n\nVideos and DVDs\n\nReferences\n\nDiscographies of British artists\nRock music group discographies"
]
|
[
"Kim Deal",
"Pixies",
"When did she play with the Pixies?",
"Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986,",
"Did the release any albums?",
"For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim",
"Was the album successful?",
"I don't know.",
"Did they have any other albums?",
"Surfer Rosa (1988),"
]
| C_c9e4aebf36044e14999678b5d54c6a5a_0 | Any singles from the Album? | 5 | Are there any singles from the album Surfer Rosa? | Kim Deal | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus. CANNOTANSWER | ), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( | Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs, and Britt Walford. Following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal joined, replacing Tanya Donelly.
Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, with the single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went into hiatus after Deal's sister Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. During that time, she would also return to Pixies when the band reunited in 2004. In 2013, Deal announced she was leaving Pixies to concentrate on making new material with the Breeders, after the band's most famous line-up (Wiggs and Jim Macpherson had rejoined the band for the first time since 1995) had reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's hit album Last Splash.
In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since the release of 1993's Last Splash.
Early life
Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. In high school, at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," Kelley explained. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia", according to Deal. A friend of Kelley's living in California used to send them cassettes of artists like James Blood Ulmer, The Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization."
As a teenager, she formed a folk rock band with her sister. She then became a prolific songwriter, as she found it easier to write songs than cover them. Deal later commented on her songwriting output: "I got like a hundred songs when I was like 16, 17 ... The music is pretty good, but the lyrics are just like, OH MY GOD. We were just trying to figure out how blue rhymes with you. When I was writing them, they didn't have anything to do with who I was." The Deals bought microphones, an eight-track tape recorder, a mixer, speakers, and amps for a bedroom studio. According to Kelley, they "had the whole thing set up by the time we were 17." They later bought a drum machine "so it would feel like we were more in a band."
Following high school, Deal went to seven different colleges, including Ohio State University, but did not graduate from any of them. She eventually received an associate degree in medical technology from Kettering College of Medical Arts and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.
Musical career
Pixies
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect.
For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Deal commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal.
The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.
The Breeders and Pod
During a 1988 post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses as part of the Pixies, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.
The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), containing mostly Deal-written songs, was recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland by Steve Albini. Pod, and especially Deal's contribution, was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked: "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde
Deal returned to the U.S. after finishing recording Pod in Edinburgh, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the band and the other members changed their mind and the four of them began recording the band's next album, Bossanova (1990).
The band's final studio album was Trompe le Monde (1991). The recording sessions were fractious, as the band were hardly ever together during the process.
She rarely sang on the band's songs during this time; one of the few tracks she sang on was a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You". () However, Deal did sing on Trompe le Monde, on songs such as "Alec Eiffel", but did not write any material for the album.
Last Splash and the Breeders
A year after the Pixies' breakup, Deal's identical twin sister Kelley joined the Breeders on lead guitar and the band released its second album, Last Splash, to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success. The record went platinum within a year of its release.
At the height of the Breeders' popularity in the early-mid 1990s, the band scored a number of hit music videos featured heavily on MTV, including "Cannonball", "Safari", "Divine Hammer", and "Saints." The band also released the vinyl-only "Head to Toe" 10" EP during the summer of 1994, when they appeared on the main stage of Lollapalooza. Although the band went into stasis in 1994 when Kelley Deal entered rehab for a heroin addiction, they never officially split up, and in 2002 released Title TK (TK is a copyediting mark meaning "to come" and is often used when editing drafts to indicate missing information).
The Amps and other projects
During this eight-year hiatus, Deal kept busy by forming, recording, and touring with the Amps.
After a few gigs where Deal went by the moniker Tammy Ampersand, The Amps released their single LP, Pacer. The record had an enthusiastic reception from reviewers, but was commercially unsuccessful.
She also produced music for other groups, most notably fellow Dayton band Guided by Voices (one of the songs on Pacer, "I Am Decided", was written by the band's lead singer, Robert Pollard).
Deal has contributed her voice to numerous projects, including This Mortal Coil's 1991 version of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" (a duet with Tanya Donnelly); the 1995 Sonic Youth single "Little Trouble Girl"; and The For Carnation's "Tales (Live from the Crypt)" in 2000.
Pixies reunion and beyond
In 2004, Deal returned to a newly reunited Pixies and toured North America with them. The song "Bam Thwok" was also released that year. One notable performance included a live taping for the public television program Austin City Limits in October 2004. The Pixies also played the Coachella Festival in 2004 and headlined Lollapalooza in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park. The Pixies also toured the UK to critical acclaim including a headline appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2003, Deal moved back to her hometown of Dayton to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles. In April 2009, the Breeders released their third EP, Fate to Fatal. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website.
Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve
In December 2012, Kim Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.
In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, and Australia. In August 2014, it was reported that the same line up were working on new material.
A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".
Discography
Pixies
Come on Pilgrim (EP, 1987)
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Doolittle (1989)
Bossanova (1990)
Trompe le Monde (1991)
The Breeders
Pod (1990)
Safari (EP, 1992)
Last Splash (1993)
Live in Stockholm 1994 (Live album, 1994)
Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
Title TK (2002)
Mountain Battles (2008)
Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
All Nerve (2018)
The Amps
Pacer (1995)
Solo 7" single series
"Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
"Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
"Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
"The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
"Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
Equipment
Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.
Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley, and is heard on Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.
1962 Fender Precision Reissue – Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".
Music Man StingRay – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in the Breeders, and by Luis Lerma in the Amps.
Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".
Gibson Thunderbird – more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies' reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records". It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in the Breeders, and by Kim Deal herself in the video for "Biker Gone" (2014).
Guitars
When playing acoustic guitars for rhythm, Kim Deal prefers distorting their sound through Marshall amps, particularly liking the resulting low end. She also pointed out that it almost does not depend on the acoustic guitar used.
Seagull acoustic
1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
Fender Stratocaster – The particular model Deal plays is a 1991 Strat Ultra. Kelley Deal also has the same model, which she received as a Christmas present from her sister in 1991.
Fender Telecaster has occasionally been played by Kim in the Breeders' live performances since at least the Last Splash era. She was also shown using the guitar on the tourbus in the Pixies documentary film loudQUIETloud (2006).
Gibson hollowbody – Borrowed for use on Last Splash.
Amplification
Peavey 300 Combo, 1×15" speaker
Trace Elliot bass head – Deal said of the amp: "It's the new series and I don't know what the number is or if there even is a number on there."
Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers
SWR heads
Marshall JCM 900 head
Marshall cabinets
Gallien-Krueger cabinet, 4×10" speakers
"Joe's Light" cabinet, 1×18" speaker – Of this and the Gallien-Krueger she commented: "I hate my cabinets."
Sears Tremolo amp with the word 'Marshall' pasted on it.
Effects
dbx 160X Compressor – "I use a compressor live, but only because sound guys seem to like it when I have one onstage, even if it's on bypass."
Boss DS-1 Distortion pedals – Used by both Kim and Kelley.
Recording
Kim Deal uses the "All Wave" philosophy of recording, using no computers, no digital recording, no auto-tuning, nor any other mainstays of contemporary production. The philosophy carries through the entire production and mastering process, including mixing, editing, sequencing, post-production and the exceptional step of an all-analog direct-metal master for the vinyl LP. This process was used on the Breeders' Title TK, the Off You EP, and Mountain Battles.
Deal commissioned the All Wave logo in an effort to identify recordings that follow this method of recording, and possibly start a movement.
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
The Breeders
[ Kim Deal] at AllMusic
1961 births
4AD artists
American atheists
American women guitarists
American women singer-songwriters
American rock bass guitarists
American rock drummers
Identical twins
American experimental musicians
American indie rock musicians
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Pixies (band) members
The Breeders members
American women rock singers
Women bass guitarists
Noise rock musicians
Slide guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
Twin people from the United States
Alternative rock bass guitarists
Alternative rock singers
People from Huber Heights, Ohio
Twin musicians
Guitarists from Ohio
21st-century American women singers
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists | false | [
"(, also being the Italian title for Rebel Without a Cause) is the debut studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Mahmood. The album was released on Island Records on 22 February 2019. The album peaked at number one on the Italian Albums Chart. The album includes the singles \"Uramaki\", \"Milano Good Vibes\", \"\", \"\" and \"\". was first released as an extended play on 21 September 2018.\n\nSingles\n\"Uramaki\" was released as the lead single from the album on 27 April 2018. The song peaked at number 86 on the Italian Singles Chart. \"Milano Good Vibes\" was released as the second single from the album on 31 August 2018. \"Asia occidente\" was released as the third single from the album on 26 October 2018. \"\" was released as the fourth single from the album on 7 December 2018. The song peaked at number 40 on the Italian Singles Chart.\n\n\"\" was released as the fifth and final single from the album on 6 February 2019. The song peaked at number 1 on the Italian Singles Chart, becoming his first number one single in any country. The song won the 69th Sanremo Musical Festival and represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel, where it reached second place.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nAlbum\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nExtended play\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2019 debut albums",
"American singer Madonna has released 88 singles and 24 promotional singles and charted with 16 other songs. She has sold more than 100 million singles worldwide. According to Billboard, Madonna is the most successful solo artist in the Hot 100 chart history, second overall behind the Beatles. In the United Kingdom, Madonna scored a total of 63 top-ten hits (more than any other female artist) and 12 number-two peaks (more than any other act). In 2012, she was ranked as the best-selling singles female artist in the UK (fourth general) with 17.6 million singles sold. At the 40th anniversary of the GfK Media Control Charts, Madonna was ranked as the most successful singles artist in German chart history.\n\nIn 1982, Madonna signed a record deal with Sire Records, and released her first two singles preceding her self-titled debut album. Her first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 was \"Holiday\" (1983), which also became her first top-ten hit song in several countries. The following year, she achieved her first number-one single in Australia, Canada, and the US with \"Like a Virgin\" from the album of the same name. In 1985, she released her second US number-one single, \"Crazy for You\", and her first UK number-one single, \"Into the Groove\", both from feature film soundtracks. Soon after, all five singles from her third studio album True Blue (1986)—\"Live to Tell\", \"Papa Don't Preach\", \"True Blue\", \"Open Your Heart\", and \"La Isla Bonita\"—reached number one in the US or the UK. The title track from Madonna's fourth studio album, Like a Prayer (1989), made her the female artist with the most US number-one singles in the 1980s (tied with Whitney Houston). The album's next singles, \"Express Yourself\" and \"Cherish\", both peaked at number two on the Hot 100, giving Madonna the record for the most consecutive top-five singles by any artist with 16.\n\nIn 1990, the single \"Vogue\" was released from the album I'm Breathless. The song topped most charts in all major music markets. With \"This Used to Be My Playground\", Madonna became the female artist with the most US number-one singles at that time. Her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992), was her first album released on Maverick Records, a Warner Brothers Records-owned label that was headed by Madonna. It was her least successful album up to that point, but overall it still saw some success with singles such as \"Erotica\", \"Deeper and Deeper\", and \"Rain\" becoming hits in the US. Her 1994 studio album Bedtime Stories spawned the lead single \"Secret\", which became her record-setting 35th consecutive UK top-ten single. The album's second single, \"Take a Bow\", remains her longest-running US number-one single with seven weeks atop the chart. \"Frozen\", from the 1998 studio album Ray of Light, became her first ever single to debut at number one in the UK. All the follow-up singles from the album were also top-ten hits in several countries.\n\nIn 2000, Madonna scored her 12th US number-one single, \"Music\", from the album of the same name. \"Hung Up\", from the 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor, became her best-charting song worldwide and earned a place in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records for topping the charts in the most countries (41 countries). \"4 Minutes\", from her 2008 studio album Hard Candy, gave Madonna her 37th Billboard Hot 100 top-ten, surpassing Elvis Presley as the artist with the most top-ten singles. The song also extended Madonna's record as the female artist with the most UK number-one singles with 13. In 2009, Billboard ranked Madonna as the Top Singles Sales Artist of the Decade. \"Give Me All Your Luvin'\", from Madonna's 2012 studio album, MDNA, became her 25th number-one single in Canada and her record-extending 38th US top-ten single. In 2020, \"I Don't Search I Find\", the fourth single from the 2019 album Madame X, became her record-extending 50th number-one song on the US Dance Club Songs, thus making her the only artist to top the chart in five consecutive decades. She remains the artist with the most number ones on a singular Billboard chart, extending her record over George Strait who earned 44 number ones on the Hot Country Singles chart.\n\nSingles\n\n1980s\n\n1990s\n\n2000s\n\n2010s\n\n2020s\n\nPromotional singles\n\nOther charted songs\n\nSee also\n\n Artists with the most number-ones on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart\n List of artists by number of Canadian number-one singles (RPM)\n List of artists by number of UK Singles Chart number ones\n List of artists who reached number one in the United States\n List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart\n List of artists who reached number one on the French Singles Chart\n List of artists who reached number one on the Italian Singles Chart\n List of artists who reached number one on the Spanish Singles Chart\n List of best-selling singles in Finland\n List of Romanian Top 100 number ones\n List of best-selling music artists in the United Kingdom in singles sales\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nFootnotes\n\nSources\n\nExternal links\n\nDiscographies of American artists\nPop music discographies\nSingles"
]
|
[
"Kim Deal",
"Pixies",
"When did she play with the Pixies?",
"Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986,",
"Did the release any albums?",
"For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim",
"Was the album successful?",
"I don't know.",
"Did they have any other albums?",
"Surfer Rosa (1988),",
"Any singles from the Album?",
"), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, \"Gigantic\" ("
]
| C_c9e4aebf36044e14999678b5d54c6a5a_0 | Where there any band conflicts? | 6 | Where there any band conflicts with Kim Deal and the Pixies? | Kim Deal | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus. CANNOTANSWER | tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. | Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs, and Britt Walford. Following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal joined, replacing Tanya Donelly.
Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, with the single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went into hiatus after Deal's sister Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. During that time, she would also return to Pixies when the band reunited in 2004. In 2013, Deal announced she was leaving Pixies to concentrate on making new material with the Breeders, after the band's most famous line-up (Wiggs and Jim Macpherson had rejoined the band for the first time since 1995) had reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's hit album Last Splash.
In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since the release of 1993's Last Splash.
Early life
Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. In high school, at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," Kelley explained. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia", according to Deal. A friend of Kelley's living in California used to send them cassettes of artists like James Blood Ulmer, The Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization."
As a teenager, she formed a folk rock band with her sister. She then became a prolific songwriter, as she found it easier to write songs than cover them. Deal later commented on her songwriting output: "I got like a hundred songs when I was like 16, 17 ... The music is pretty good, but the lyrics are just like, OH MY GOD. We were just trying to figure out how blue rhymes with you. When I was writing them, they didn't have anything to do with who I was." The Deals bought microphones, an eight-track tape recorder, a mixer, speakers, and amps for a bedroom studio. According to Kelley, they "had the whole thing set up by the time we were 17." They later bought a drum machine "so it would feel like we were more in a band."
Following high school, Deal went to seven different colleges, including Ohio State University, but did not graduate from any of them. She eventually received an associate degree in medical technology from Kettering College of Medical Arts and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.
Musical career
Pixies
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect.
For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Deal commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal.
The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.
The Breeders and Pod
During a 1988 post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses as part of the Pixies, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.
The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), containing mostly Deal-written songs, was recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland by Steve Albini. Pod, and especially Deal's contribution, was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked: "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde
Deal returned to the U.S. after finishing recording Pod in Edinburgh, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the band and the other members changed their mind and the four of them began recording the band's next album, Bossanova (1990).
The band's final studio album was Trompe le Monde (1991). The recording sessions were fractious, as the band were hardly ever together during the process.
She rarely sang on the band's songs during this time; one of the few tracks she sang on was a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You". () However, Deal did sing on Trompe le Monde, on songs such as "Alec Eiffel", but did not write any material for the album.
Last Splash and the Breeders
A year after the Pixies' breakup, Deal's identical twin sister Kelley joined the Breeders on lead guitar and the band released its second album, Last Splash, to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success. The record went platinum within a year of its release.
At the height of the Breeders' popularity in the early-mid 1990s, the band scored a number of hit music videos featured heavily on MTV, including "Cannonball", "Safari", "Divine Hammer", and "Saints." The band also released the vinyl-only "Head to Toe" 10" EP during the summer of 1994, when they appeared on the main stage of Lollapalooza. Although the band went into stasis in 1994 when Kelley Deal entered rehab for a heroin addiction, they never officially split up, and in 2002 released Title TK (TK is a copyediting mark meaning "to come" and is often used when editing drafts to indicate missing information).
The Amps and other projects
During this eight-year hiatus, Deal kept busy by forming, recording, and touring with the Amps.
After a few gigs where Deal went by the moniker Tammy Ampersand, The Amps released their single LP, Pacer. The record had an enthusiastic reception from reviewers, but was commercially unsuccessful.
She also produced music for other groups, most notably fellow Dayton band Guided by Voices (one of the songs on Pacer, "I Am Decided", was written by the band's lead singer, Robert Pollard).
Deal has contributed her voice to numerous projects, including This Mortal Coil's 1991 version of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" (a duet with Tanya Donnelly); the 1995 Sonic Youth single "Little Trouble Girl"; and The For Carnation's "Tales (Live from the Crypt)" in 2000.
Pixies reunion and beyond
In 2004, Deal returned to a newly reunited Pixies and toured North America with them. The song "Bam Thwok" was also released that year. One notable performance included a live taping for the public television program Austin City Limits in October 2004. The Pixies also played the Coachella Festival in 2004 and headlined Lollapalooza in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park. The Pixies also toured the UK to critical acclaim including a headline appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2003, Deal moved back to her hometown of Dayton to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles. In April 2009, the Breeders released their third EP, Fate to Fatal. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website.
Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve
In December 2012, Kim Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.
In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, and Australia. In August 2014, it was reported that the same line up were working on new material.
A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".
Discography
Pixies
Come on Pilgrim (EP, 1987)
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Doolittle (1989)
Bossanova (1990)
Trompe le Monde (1991)
The Breeders
Pod (1990)
Safari (EP, 1992)
Last Splash (1993)
Live in Stockholm 1994 (Live album, 1994)
Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
Title TK (2002)
Mountain Battles (2008)
Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
All Nerve (2018)
The Amps
Pacer (1995)
Solo 7" single series
"Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
"Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
"Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
"The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
"Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
Equipment
Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.
Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley, and is heard on Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.
1962 Fender Precision Reissue – Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".
Music Man StingRay – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in the Breeders, and by Luis Lerma in the Amps.
Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".
Gibson Thunderbird – more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies' reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records". It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in the Breeders, and by Kim Deal herself in the video for "Biker Gone" (2014).
Guitars
When playing acoustic guitars for rhythm, Kim Deal prefers distorting their sound through Marshall amps, particularly liking the resulting low end. She also pointed out that it almost does not depend on the acoustic guitar used.
Seagull acoustic
1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
Fender Stratocaster – The particular model Deal plays is a 1991 Strat Ultra. Kelley Deal also has the same model, which she received as a Christmas present from her sister in 1991.
Fender Telecaster has occasionally been played by Kim in the Breeders' live performances since at least the Last Splash era. She was also shown using the guitar on the tourbus in the Pixies documentary film loudQUIETloud (2006).
Gibson hollowbody – Borrowed for use on Last Splash.
Amplification
Peavey 300 Combo, 1×15" speaker
Trace Elliot bass head – Deal said of the amp: "It's the new series and I don't know what the number is or if there even is a number on there."
Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers
SWR heads
Marshall JCM 900 head
Marshall cabinets
Gallien-Krueger cabinet, 4×10" speakers
"Joe's Light" cabinet, 1×18" speaker – Of this and the Gallien-Krueger she commented: "I hate my cabinets."
Sears Tremolo amp with the word 'Marshall' pasted on it.
Effects
dbx 160X Compressor – "I use a compressor live, but only because sound guys seem to like it when I have one onstage, even if it's on bypass."
Boss DS-1 Distortion pedals – Used by both Kim and Kelley.
Recording
Kim Deal uses the "All Wave" philosophy of recording, using no computers, no digital recording, no auto-tuning, nor any other mainstays of contemporary production. The philosophy carries through the entire production and mastering process, including mixing, editing, sequencing, post-production and the exceptional step of an all-analog direct-metal master for the vinyl LP. This process was used on the Breeders' Title TK, the Off You EP, and Mountain Battles.
Deal commissioned the All Wave logo in an effort to identify recordings that follow this method of recording, and possibly start a movement.
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
The Breeders
[ Kim Deal] at AllMusic
1961 births
4AD artists
American atheists
American women guitarists
American women singer-songwriters
American rock bass guitarists
American rock drummers
Identical twins
American experimental musicians
American indie rock musicians
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Pixies (band) members
The Breeders members
American women rock singers
Women bass guitarists
Noise rock musicians
Slide guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
Twin people from the United States
Alternative rock bass guitarists
Alternative rock singers
People from Huber Heights, Ohio
Twin musicians
Guitarists from Ohio
21st-century American women singers
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists | true | [
"\"Enemy\" is a song by American rock band Drowning Pool. It is the second track on their third studio album Full Circle.\n\nMeaning\nThe song was written by vocalist Ryan McCombs about the mudslinging the band SOiL did when he left them to be with his family.\n\nRyan McCombs explains meaning of the song \"It was written about them (the bandmates), to be honest. When I quit the band I didn’t point any fingers. I cited personal reasons. I said that it had nothing to do with anything other than the fact that I just wanted to go home and be a full-time husband and father. But there were a lot of issues. Understandably so, I was always the fifth wheel there. Those guys, they grew up in the same music scene together. They grew up playing together. Three of the guys were in a band for seven years before I even joined. So, understandably, I was always on the outside looking in. It was a lot of different personality conflicts. Over time, you’re living on a bus together, it’s almost impossible to deal with when you’re living in that close proximity. I don’t think it was anybody’s fault. We were just different people and it was time for me to go. And when I did go, I didn’t even say that, and then all of a sudden I got attacked in the press in every form that you can imagine. They pretty much made every story up about me that you can even think of saying about somebody. It got really ugly. I never retorted. Even when I joined Drowning Pool and they started attacking Drowning Pool, none of the guys in the band ever commented or replied. We just ignored it. So, this song “Enemy” is about that, it's about taking the high road. The chorus, itself, is “I walked the high road away from you/God knows what I’ve been through.” I tried to write it in a way that works for anybody who's been in any kind of a situation, whether it be any type of a relationship or any type of working situation, where you took the high road, you kept you're mouth shut and you're trying to do the right thing and you still get called out for complete bullcrap. It's a tough thing to deal with. I just put it in a song instead of going public with it.\"\n\nMusic video\nTwo music videos were made for the song. The first one shows animated versions of the band playing the song, while the second one shows some clips of the animated version and clips of the band playing live.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nReferences \n\n2007 singles\n2007 songs\nDrowning Pool songs\nEleven Seven Label Group singles\nSongs written by Stevie Benton\nSongs written by Ryan McCombs",
"The Tunisian-Algerian Wars were a set of wars fought between the Regency of Algiers, and the Regency of Tunis.\n\nPre-1670 conflicts \n\n Algerian-Tunisian war (1627)\n\nAfter 1670 Algiers went through several reforms and gained autonomy. After a short civil war in 1710, Algiers became De facto independent, or quasi independent. While the other wars are linked to each other, this one isn't, and is a standalone war. Tunis gained a large amount of autonomy after 1705.\n\nPost-1670 conflicts \n\n Algerian-Tunisian War (1694)\n Maghrebi war (1699-1702)\n Algerian-Tunisian War (1705)\n\nConflicts of the 18th century and the 19th century lead to a peace treaty in 1817, where the two sides recognized each other, Algiers waives the payment of the tribute from Tunis, and both sides renounce any territorial claim:\n\n Algerian-Tunisian War (1735)\n Algerian-Tunisian war (1756)\n Algerian-Tunisian War (1807)\n Algerian-Tunisian naval war (1811)\n\nWars involving Algeria\nWars involving Tunisia"
]
|
[
"Kim Deal",
"Pixies",
"When did she play with the Pixies?",
"Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986,",
"Did the release any albums?",
"For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim",
"Was the album successful?",
"I don't know.",
"Did they have any other albums?",
"Surfer Rosa (1988),",
"Any singles from the Album?",
"), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, \"Gigantic\" (",
"Where there any band conflicts?",
"tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions."
]
| C_c9e4aebf36044e14999678b5d54c6a5a_0 | Did the conflicts escalate? | 7 | Did the conflicts between Kim Deal and Francis of the Pixies escalate? | Kim Deal | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus. CANNOTANSWER | The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. | Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs, and Britt Walford. Following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal joined, replacing Tanya Donelly.
Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, with the single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went into hiatus after Deal's sister Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. During that time, she would also return to Pixies when the band reunited in 2004. In 2013, Deal announced she was leaving Pixies to concentrate on making new material with the Breeders, after the band's most famous line-up (Wiggs and Jim Macpherson had rejoined the band for the first time since 1995) had reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's hit album Last Splash.
In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since the release of 1993's Last Splash.
Early life
Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. In high school, at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," Kelley explained. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia", according to Deal. A friend of Kelley's living in California used to send them cassettes of artists like James Blood Ulmer, The Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization."
As a teenager, she formed a folk rock band with her sister. She then became a prolific songwriter, as she found it easier to write songs than cover them. Deal later commented on her songwriting output: "I got like a hundred songs when I was like 16, 17 ... The music is pretty good, but the lyrics are just like, OH MY GOD. We were just trying to figure out how blue rhymes with you. When I was writing them, they didn't have anything to do with who I was." The Deals bought microphones, an eight-track tape recorder, a mixer, speakers, and amps for a bedroom studio. According to Kelley, they "had the whole thing set up by the time we were 17." They later bought a drum machine "so it would feel like we were more in a band."
Following high school, Deal went to seven different colleges, including Ohio State University, but did not graduate from any of them. She eventually received an associate degree in medical technology from Kettering College of Medical Arts and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.
Musical career
Pixies
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect.
For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Deal commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal.
The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.
The Breeders and Pod
During a 1988 post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses as part of the Pixies, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.
The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), containing mostly Deal-written songs, was recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland by Steve Albini. Pod, and especially Deal's contribution, was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked: "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde
Deal returned to the U.S. after finishing recording Pod in Edinburgh, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the band and the other members changed their mind and the four of them began recording the band's next album, Bossanova (1990).
The band's final studio album was Trompe le Monde (1991). The recording sessions were fractious, as the band were hardly ever together during the process.
She rarely sang on the band's songs during this time; one of the few tracks she sang on was a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You". () However, Deal did sing on Trompe le Monde, on songs such as "Alec Eiffel", but did not write any material for the album.
Last Splash and the Breeders
A year after the Pixies' breakup, Deal's identical twin sister Kelley joined the Breeders on lead guitar and the band released its second album, Last Splash, to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success. The record went platinum within a year of its release.
At the height of the Breeders' popularity in the early-mid 1990s, the band scored a number of hit music videos featured heavily on MTV, including "Cannonball", "Safari", "Divine Hammer", and "Saints." The band also released the vinyl-only "Head to Toe" 10" EP during the summer of 1994, when they appeared on the main stage of Lollapalooza. Although the band went into stasis in 1994 when Kelley Deal entered rehab for a heroin addiction, they never officially split up, and in 2002 released Title TK (TK is a copyediting mark meaning "to come" and is often used when editing drafts to indicate missing information).
The Amps and other projects
During this eight-year hiatus, Deal kept busy by forming, recording, and touring with the Amps.
After a few gigs where Deal went by the moniker Tammy Ampersand, The Amps released their single LP, Pacer. The record had an enthusiastic reception from reviewers, but was commercially unsuccessful.
She also produced music for other groups, most notably fellow Dayton band Guided by Voices (one of the songs on Pacer, "I Am Decided", was written by the band's lead singer, Robert Pollard).
Deal has contributed her voice to numerous projects, including This Mortal Coil's 1991 version of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" (a duet with Tanya Donnelly); the 1995 Sonic Youth single "Little Trouble Girl"; and The For Carnation's "Tales (Live from the Crypt)" in 2000.
Pixies reunion and beyond
In 2004, Deal returned to a newly reunited Pixies and toured North America with them. The song "Bam Thwok" was also released that year. One notable performance included a live taping for the public television program Austin City Limits in October 2004. The Pixies also played the Coachella Festival in 2004 and headlined Lollapalooza in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park. The Pixies also toured the UK to critical acclaim including a headline appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2003, Deal moved back to her hometown of Dayton to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles. In April 2009, the Breeders released their third EP, Fate to Fatal. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website.
Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve
In December 2012, Kim Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.
In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, and Australia. In August 2014, it was reported that the same line up were working on new material.
A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".
Discography
Pixies
Come on Pilgrim (EP, 1987)
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Doolittle (1989)
Bossanova (1990)
Trompe le Monde (1991)
The Breeders
Pod (1990)
Safari (EP, 1992)
Last Splash (1993)
Live in Stockholm 1994 (Live album, 1994)
Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
Title TK (2002)
Mountain Battles (2008)
Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
All Nerve (2018)
The Amps
Pacer (1995)
Solo 7" single series
"Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
"Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
"Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
"The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
"Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
Equipment
Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.
Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley, and is heard on Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.
1962 Fender Precision Reissue – Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".
Music Man StingRay – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in the Breeders, and by Luis Lerma in the Amps.
Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".
Gibson Thunderbird – more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies' reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records". It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in the Breeders, and by Kim Deal herself in the video for "Biker Gone" (2014).
Guitars
When playing acoustic guitars for rhythm, Kim Deal prefers distorting their sound through Marshall amps, particularly liking the resulting low end. She also pointed out that it almost does not depend on the acoustic guitar used.
Seagull acoustic
1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
Fender Stratocaster – The particular model Deal plays is a 1991 Strat Ultra. Kelley Deal also has the same model, which she received as a Christmas present from her sister in 1991.
Fender Telecaster has occasionally been played by Kim in the Breeders' live performances since at least the Last Splash era. She was also shown using the guitar on the tourbus in the Pixies documentary film loudQUIETloud (2006).
Gibson hollowbody – Borrowed for use on Last Splash.
Amplification
Peavey 300 Combo, 1×15" speaker
Trace Elliot bass head – Deal said of the amp: "It's the new series and I don't know what the number is or if there even is a number on there."
Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers
SWR heads
Marshall JCM 900 head
Marshall cabinets
Gallien-Krueger cabinet, 4×10" speakers
"Joe's Light" cabinet, 1×18" speaker – Of this and the Gallien-Krueger she commented: "I hate my cabinets."
Sears Tremolo amp with the word 'Marshall' pasted on it.
Effects
dbx 160X Compressor – "I use a compressor live, but only because sound guys seem to like it when I have one onstage, even if it's on bypass."
Boss DS-1 Distortion pedals – Used by both Kim and Kelley.
Recording
Kim Deal uses the "All Wave" philosophy of recording, using no computers, no digital recording, no auto-tuning, nor any other mainstays of contemporary production. The philosophy carries through the entire production and mastering process, including mixing, editing, sequencing, post-production and the exceptional step of an all-analog direct-metal master for the vinyl LP. This process was used on the Breeders' Title TK, the Off You EP, and Mountain Battles.
Deal commissioned the All Wave logo in an effort to identify recordings that follow this method of recording, and possibly start a movement.
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
The Breeders
[ Kim Deal] at AllMusic
1961 births
4AD artists
American atheists
American women guitarists
American women singer-songwriters
American rock bass guitarists
American rock drummers
Identical twins
American experimental musicians
American indie rock musicians
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Pixies (band) members
The Breeders members
American women rock singers
Women bass guitarists
Noise rock musicians
Slide guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
Twin people from the United States
Alternative rock bass guitarists
Alternative rock singers
People from Huber Heights, Ohio
Twin musicians
Guitarists from Ohio
21st-century American women singers
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists | true | [
"Superpower disengagement is a foreign policy option whereby the most powerful nations, the superpowers, reduce their interventions in an area. Such disengagement could be multilateral among superpowers or lesser powers, or bilateral between two superpowers, or unilateral. It could mean an end to either direct or indirect interventions. For instance, disengagement could mean that the superpowers remove their support of proxies in proxy wars in order to de-escalate a superpower conflict back to a local problem based on local disputes. Disengagement can create buffers between superpowers that might prevent conflicts or reduce the intensity of conflicts.\n\nThe term usually refers to various policy proposals during the Cold War which attempted to defuse tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, largely because of the risk of any superpower conflict to escalate to nuclear war. Examples of one-sided disengagement include when Joseph Stalin decided to end Soviet support for the communist guerrillas in Greece during the Greek Civil War, and when Richard Nixon withdrew US troops from Vietnam in the early 1970s. \n\nThe more important candidates for disengagement were where Soviet and US forces faced each other directly such as in Germany and Austria. The Austrian State Treaty is an example of formal, multilateral, superpower disengagement which left Austria as neutral for the duration of the Cold War, with Austria staying out of the Warsaw Pact, NATO, and the European Economic Community. The 1952 Stalin Note is perhaps the most controversial proposal of superpower disengagement from Germany.\n\nSee also\n\nInternational relations terminology\nDisengagement",
"The stability–instability paradox is an international relations theory regarding the effect of nuclear weapons and mutually assured destruction. It states that when two countries each have nuclear weapons, the probability of a direct war between them greatly decreases, but the probability of minor or indirect conflicts between them increases. This occurs because rational actors want to avoid nuclear wars, and thus they neither start major conflicts nor allow minor conflicts to escalate into major conflicts—thus making it safe to engage in minor conflicts. For instance, during the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union never engaged each other in warfare, but fought proxy wars in Korea, Vietnam, Angola, the Middle East, Nicaragua and Afghanistan and spent substantial amounts of money and manpower on gaining relative influence over the third world.\n\nA study published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution in 2009 quantitatively evaluated the nuclear peace hypothesis, and found support for the existence of the stability–instability paradox. The study determined that while nuclear weapons promote strategic stability, and prevent large scale wars, they simultaneously allow for more lower intensity conflicts. When one state has nuclear weapons, but their opponent does not, there is a greater chance of war. In contrast, when there is mutual nuclear weapon ownership with both states possessing nuclear weapons, the odds of war drop precipitously.\n\nThis effect can be seen in the India–Pakistan relationship and to some degree in Russia–NATO relations.\n\nMechanism\nThe stability–instability paradox\n\nAssumptions\nOne of the major assumptions in the concept of mutually assured destruction and the stability-instability phenomenon as its consequence is that all actors are rational and that this rationality implies an avoidance of complete destruction. Particularly the second part of the assumption might not necessarily be given in real-world politics. When imagining a theocratic nation whose leaders believe in the existence of an afterlife which they assume to be sufficiently better than our current life, it becomes rational for them to do everything in their power to facilitate a swift transition for as many people as possible into that afterlife. This connection between certain religious beliefs and politics of weapons of mass destruction has been pointed out by some atheists in order to point out perceived dangers of theocratic societies.\n\nSee also\n Nuclear peace\n Minimal deterrence\n Deterrence theory\n\nReferences\n\nInternational relations theory\nParadoxes"
]
|
[
"Kim Deal",
"Pixies",
"When did she play with the Pixies?",
"Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986,",
"Did the release any albums?",
"For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim",
"Was the album successful?",
"I don't know.",
"Did they have any other albums?",
"Surfer Rosa (1988),",
"Any singles from the Album?",
"), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, \"Gigantic\" (",
"Where there any band conflicts?",
"tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions.",
"Did the conflicts escalate?",
"The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US \"Fuck or Fight\" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party."
]
| C_c9e4aebf36044e14999678b5d54c6a5a_0 | Did they end up breaking up? | 8 | Did Kim Deal and the Pixies end up breaking up? | Kim Deal | Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus. CANNOTANSWER | The band soon announced a hiatus. | Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was bassist and co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989.
Deal joined Pixies in January 1986, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and the Pixies' hiatus, she formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs, and Britt Walford. Following the band's debut album Pod, her twin sister Kelley Deal joined, replacing Tanya Donelly.
Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to the Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993, with the single "Cannonball". In 1994, the Breeders went into hiatus after Deal's sister Kelley entered drug rehabilitation. During the band's hiatus, Deal adopted the stage name Tammy Ampersand and formed the short-lived rock band the Amps, recording a single album, Pacer, in 1995. After her own stint in drug rehabilitation, Deal eventually reformed the Breeders with a new line-up for two more albums, Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008. During that time, she would also return to Pixies when the band reunited in 2004. In 2013, Deal announced she was leaving Pixies to concentrate on making new material with the Breeders, after the band's most famous line-up (Wiggs and Jim Macpherson had rejoined the band for the first time since 1995) had reunited for a new series of tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's hit album Last Splash.
In 2018, the Breeders released their fifth album All Nerve, the first album to reunite the Deals, Wiggs, and Macpherson since the release of 1993's Last Splash.
Early life
Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Her father was a laser physicist who worked at the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kim and her identical twin sister Kelley were introduced to music at a young age; the two sang to a "two-track, quarter-inch, tape" when they were "four or five" years old, and grew up listening to hard rock bands such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When Deal was 11, she learned Roger Miller's "King of the Road" on the acoustic guitar. In high school, at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, she was a cheerleader and often got into conflicts with authority. "We were popular girls," Kelley explained. "We got good grades and played sports." Still, growing up in Dayton was "like living in Russia", according to Deal. A friend of Kelley's living in California used to send them cassettes of artists like James Blood Ulmer, The Undertones, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees. "These tapes were our most treasured possession, the only link with civilization."
As a teenager, she formed a folk rock band with her sister. She then became a prolific songwriter, as she found it easier to write songs than cover them. Deal later commented on her songwriting output: "I got like a hundred songs when I was like 16, 17 ... The music is pretty good, but the lyrics are just like, OH MY GOD. We were just trying to figure out how blue rhymes with you. When I was writing them, they didn't have anything to do with who I was." The Deals bought microphones, an eight-track tape recorder, a mixer, speakers, and amps for a bedroom studio. According to Kelley, they "had the whole thing set up by the time we were 17." They later bought a drum machine "so it would feel like we were more in a band."
Following high school, Deal went to seven different colleges, including Ohio State University, but did not graduate from any of them. She eventually received an associate degree in medical technology from Kettering College of Medical Arts and took several jobs in cellular biology, including working in a hospital laboratory and a biochemical lab.
Musical career
Pixies
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for the Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that read, "Band seeks bassist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please – no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect.
For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic", which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Deal commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion from releasing three records in two years and constant touring contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal.
The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.
The Breeders and Pod
During a 1988 post-Surfer Rosa tour of Europe with Throwing Muses as part of the Pixies, Deal began to write new material. As neither band had plans for the short term, Deal discussed possible side-projects with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donnelly. After rejecting the idea of creating a dance album together, the pair decided to form a new band. Deal named the band the Breeders, after the folk band she formed with Kelley as a teenager, and they recruited Carrie Bradley, violinist and vocalist in Ed's Redeeming Qualities, to record a short demo tape.
The Breeders' demo was sent to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed them to the label. The Breeders allowed Deal to become more active in songwriting, and their debut album, Pod (1990), containing mostly Deal-written songs, was recorded in Edinburgh, Scotland by Steve Albini. Pod, and especially Deal's contribution, was praised by contemporaries; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain later named the album one of his favorites and remarked: "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies."
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde
Deal returned to the U.S. after finishing recording Pod in Edinburgh, but was then fired from the Pixies. Regardless, she flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the band and the other members changed their mind and the four of them began recording the band's next album, Bossanova (1990).
The band's final studio album was Trompe le Monde (1991). The recording sessions were fractious, as the band were hardly ever together during the process.
She rarely sang on the band's songs during this time; one of the few tracks she sang on was a cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You". () However, Deal did sing on Trompe le Monde, on songs such as "Alec Eiffel", but did not write any material for the album.
Last Splash and the Breeders
A year after the Pixies' breakup, Deal's identical twin sister Kelley joined the Breeders on lead guitar and the band released its second album, Last Splash, to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success. The record went platinum within a year of its release.
At the height of the Breeders' popularity in the early-mid 1990s, the band scored a number of hit music videos featured heavily on MTV, including "Cannonball", "Safari", "Divine Hammer", and "Saints." The band also released the vinyl-only "Head to Toe" 10" EP during the summer of 1994, when they appeared on the main stage of Lollapalooza. Although the band went into stasis in 1994 when Kelley Deal entered rehab for a heroin addiction, they never officially split up, and in 2002 released Title TK (TK is a copyediting mark meaning "to come" and is often used when editing drafts to indicate missing information).
The Amps and other projects
During this eight-year hiatus, Deal kept busy by forming, recording, and touring with the Amps.
After a few gigs where Deal went by the moniker Tammy Ampersand, The Amps released their single LP, Pacer. The record had an enthusiastic reception from reviewers, but was commercially unsuccessful.
She also produced music for other groups, most notably fellow Dayton band Guided by Voices (one of the songs on Pacer, "I Am Decided", was written by the band's lead singer, Robert Pollard).
Deal has contributed her voice to numerous projects, including This Mortal Coil's 1991 version of Chris Bell's "You and Your Sister" (a duet with Tanya Donnelly); the 1995 Sonic Youth single "Little Trouble Girl"; and The For Carnation's "Tales (Live from the Crypt)" in 2000.
Pixies reunion and beyond
In 2004, Deal returned to a newly reunited Pixies and toured North America with them. The song "Bam Thwok" was also released that year. One notable performance included a live taping for the public television program Austin City Limits in October 2004. The Pixies also played the Coachella Festival in 2004 and headlined Lollapalooza in 2005 at Chicago's Grant Park. The Pixies also toured the UK to critical acclaim including a headline appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
In 2003, Deal moved back to her hometown of Dayton to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In early April 2008, the Breeders released their fourth full-length studio album, Mountain Battles. In April 2009, the Breeders released their third EP, Fate to Fatal. On June 14, 2013, it was announced that Deal had left the Pixies. She has since posted new solo music on her website.
Solo releases, LSXX, and All Nerve
In December 2012, Kim Deal played a solo set at the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in the UK, debuting several new songs. At the same time, she released her first solo single, "Walking with a Killer", and continued to issue further solo releases throughout 2013 and 2014.
In April 2013, 4AD released LSXX, a 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders album Last Splash. Deal reunited with Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson for a Last Splash anniversary tour of North America, Europe, and Australia. In August 2014, it was reported that the same line up were working on new material.
A new single, "Wait in the Car", was released on October 3, 2017. On March 2, 2018, the reunited lineup released All Nerve, their first studio album in ten years, to widespread critical acclaim. In the following months, the Breeders also collaborated on multiple tracks of Courtney Barnett's May 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel, with Kim and Kelley singing backing vocals on the singles "Nameless, Faceless" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence".
Discography
Pixies
Come on Pilgrim (EP, 1987)
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Doolittle (1989)
Bossanova (1990)
Trompe le Monde (1991)
The Breeders
Pod (1990)
Safari (EP, 1992)
Last Splash (1993)
Live in Stockholm 1994 (Live album, 1994)
Head to Toe (EP, 1994)
Title TK (2002)
Mountain Battles (2008)
Fate to Fatal (EP, 2009)
All Nerve (2018)
The Amps
Pacer (1995)
Solo 7" single series
"Walking with a Killer" b/w "Dirty Hessians" (2012)
"Hot Shot" b/w "Likkle More" (2013)
"Are You Mine?" b/w "Wish I Was" (2013)
"The Root" b/w "Range On Castle" (2014)
"Biker Gone" b/w "Beautiful Moon Clear" (2014)
Equipment
Bass guitars
Kim Deal generally plays four-string solid-body bass guitars and always uses a pick, particularly the "green Dunlops with the little turtle on them", although since the Pixies' reunion she has also been using custom green Dunlops with "KIM" written on them. She prefers having old strings on a bass.
Aria Pro II Cardinal Series – The Pixies' first bass belonged to Kelley, and is heard on Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and seen on the Town & Country live video. It later reappeared in the Kelley Deal 6000.
1962 Fender Precision Reissue – Acquired for use on Doolittle on Gil Norton's insistence. It appears in the video for "Here Comes Your Man". On the Bossanova album, the Precision was used on "Dig for Fire" for its "lazier, growlier sound" that was "not as boingy-boingy-sproingy".
Music Man StingRay – Added in time for Bossanova "because it was active and had a different sound" and became her main live bass "because it was a little less country-sounding than the Fender". The instrument was afterwards played by Josephine Wiggs in the Breeders, and by Luis Lerma in the Amps.
Steinberger headless (but full-bodied, two-cutaway) bass – Bought during the recording of Trompe Le Monde because the other basses were out of tune on the higher frets. Deal described it as having a "weird, organ-y sound".
Gibson Thunderbird – more recently, her favorite bass that she did not use on the Pixies' reunion, feeling she had to "sound like the records". It is seen played upside-down (left-handed) by Mando Lopez in the Breeders, and by Kim Deal herself in the video for "Biker Gone" (2014).
Guitars
When playing acoustic guitars for rhythm, Kim Deal prefers distorting their sound through Marshall amps, particularly liking the resulting low end. She also pointed out that it almost does not depend on the acoustic guitar used.
Seagull acoustic
1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue – Also played by Joey Santiago up through Surfer Rosa (before he acquired his own) and then by Kelley Deal in the Breeders.
Fender Stratocaster – The particular model Deal plays is a 1991 Strat Ultra. Kelley Deal also has the same model, which she received as a Christmas present from her sister in 1991.
Fender Telecaster has occasionally been played by Kim in the Breeders' live performances since at least the Last Splash era. She was also shown using the guitar on the tourbus in the Pixies documentary film loudQUIETloud (2006).
Gibson hollowbody – Borrowed for use on Last Splash.
Amplification
Peavey 300 Combo, 1×15" speaker
Trace Elliot bass head – Deal said of the amp: "It's the new series and I don't know what the number is or if there even is a number on there."
Trace Elliot 1048H bass cabinet, 4×10" speakers
SWR heads
Marshall JCM 900 head
Marshall cabinets
Gallien-Krueger cabinet, 4×10" speakers
"Joe's Light" cabinet, 1×18" speaker – Of this and the Gallien-Krueger she commented: "I hate my cabinets."
Sears Tremolo amp with the word 'Marshall' pasted on it.
Effects
dbx 160X Compressor – "I use a compressor live, but only because sound guys seem to like it when I have one onstage, even if it's on bypass."
Boss DS-1 Distortion pedals – Used by both Kim and Kelley.
Recording
Kim Deal uses the "All Wave" philosophy of recording, using no computers, no digital recording, no auto-tuning, nor any other mainstays of contemporary production. The philosophy carries through the entire production and mastering process, including mixing, editing, sequencing, post-production and the exceptional step of an all-analog direct-metal master for the vinyl LP. This process was used on the Breeders' Title TK, the Off You EP, and Mountain Battles.
Deal commissioned the All Wave logo in an effort to identify recordings that follow this method of recording, and possibly start a movement.
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
The Breeders
[ Kim Deal] at AllMusic
1961 births
4AD artists
American atheists
American women guitarists
American women singer-songwriters
American rock bass guitarists
American rock drummers
Identical twins
American experimental musicians
American indie rock musicians
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Pixies (band) members
The Breeders members
American women rock singers
Women bass guitarists
Noise rock musicians
Slide guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
Twin people from the United States
Alternative rock bass guitarists
Alternative rock singers
People from Huber Heights, Ohio
Twin musicians
Guitarists from Ohio
21st-century American women singers
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists | true | [
"Breaking or breakin' may refer to:\n\nPhysical damage\n Fracture, the separation of an object into two or more pieces under stress\n Breaking (martial arts), a martial arts skill\n Ship breaking, a type of ship disposal\n Structural integrity and failure, in engineered systems\n\nArts and entertainment\nBreaking (dancing) (or b-boying), a street dance style \nBreakin', a 1984 movie\nBreakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, a sequel\n\"Breakin'\" (song) from The Music's Welcome to the North\n\"Breaking\" (song), by the band Anberlin\nBreaking (album), by American singer-songwriter Brian Larsen\n\"Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us\", a song by Ollie & Jerry from the Breakin' soundtrack\nSequence breaking, in computer and video gaming\nBreaking Benjamin, a post-grunge rock band\n[[SpongeBob SquarePants (season 12)#ep257b|Breakin''']], an episode of SpongeBob\n\nOther uses\nHorse breaking, in training of horses\nHousebreaking, the process of training a domesticated animal to excrete outdoors, or in a designated indoor area\nSabbath breaking, a failure to observe the Biblical Sabbath, or an end of observation at the end of the Sabbath\nSpring breaking, the act of vacationing on spring break\nStrike breaking, action by a company to break up a labor strike\nVoice break, a boy's voice deepening at puberty\nVowel breaking, a historical linguistics term\nBreaking news, a news item that interrupts scheduled programming or other news reporting\nBurglary, or \"breaking and entering\"\n, a starting shot in many cue sports, and a run of shots in snooker\n\nSee also\n \n \n Brake (disambiguation)\n Break in (disambiguation)\n Break (disambiguation)\n Breakdown (disambiguation)\n Breaker (disambiguation)Breaking Bad'', a television series",
"\"Turn the Tide\" is a song by the British pop band Johnny Hates Jazz, released as a non-album single in 1989. It was written by Phil Thornalley, Scott Cutler and Chris Murrell, and produced by Calvin Hayes and Mike Nocito.\n\nAt the end of 1988, the band's lead vocalist and primary songwriter Clark Datchler left the band in order to focus on his solo career. Nocito and Hayes decided to continue the band, replacing Datchler with Phil Thornalley. \"Turn the Tide\" was the first song to be released under the band's new line-up. It peaked at No. 84 in the UK and stayed in the Top 100 for two weeks.\n\nIn 1991, the band would follow-up the song with the album Tall Stories, which did not include \"Turn the Tide\".\n\nA music video was filmed to promote the single.\n\nThe B-Side, \"Breaking Point\", was an instrumental exclusive to the single. It was written by Hayes and Nocito. For the 12\" vinyl and CD formats of the single, a special remix of \"Turn the Tide\" was released, titled \"Turn the Tide (Rouge Vogue Mix)\".\n\nCritical reception\nOn its release, Tim Southwell of Record Mirror considered the song to have an \"aimless procession of cutesy synths and vocals\". He added, \"The main problem with Johnny Hates Jazz is the undeniable fact that, no matter how hard they try, their singles tend to be somewhat on the bland side.\"\n\nFormats\n7\" single\n\"Turn the Tide\" - 3:44\n\"Breaking Point\" - 3:19\n\n12\" single\n\"Turn the Tide\" (Rouge Vogue Mix) - 5:00\n\"Turn the Tide\" - 3:44\n\"Breaking Point\" - 3:19\n\nCD single\n\"Turn the Tide\" (Seven Inch Version) - 3:44\n\"Turn the Tide\" (Rouge Vogue Mix) - 5:00\n\"Breaking Point\" - 3:19\n\nCharts\n\nPersonnel \n Producers on \"Turn the Tide\" - Calvin Hayes, Mike Nocito\n Writers of \"Turn the Tide\" - Phil Thornalley, Scott Cutler, Chris Murrell\n Producers on \"Breaking Point\" - Calvin Hayes, Mike Nocito\n Writers of \"Breaking Point\" - Calvin Hayes, Mike Nocito\n Photography – Sheila Rock\n Design – Assorted Images\n\nReferences\n\n1989 singles\nJohnny Hates Jazz songs\nSongs written by Phil Thornalley\n1989 songs\nVirgin Records singles\nSongs written by Scott Cutler"
]
|
[
"A. J. Quartermaine",
"Casting"
]
| C_d7f3ec115a254822a045a747bebb49c3_1 | Who played Quartermaine? | 1 | Who played A. J. Quartermaine in Casting? | A. J. Quartermaine | The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994. Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline. In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off. On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guide's Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J. CANNOTANSWER | The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983. | A.J. Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Born on-screen in 1979 as the only biological child of the iconic Drs. Alan and Monica Quartermaine, A.J. was "SORASed" in 1991, revising his birth year to 1972. The role has been most notably portrayed by the actors Sean Kanan from 1993 to 1997 and Billy Warlock from 1997 to 2003, with a brief return in 2005. Kanan made his on-screen return as A.J. on October 26, 2012, after a 15-year absence. Kanan announced in March 2014 that he would once again be leaving the series, voicing his disappointment over the writing for the character.
Casting
The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary portrayed A.J. April 16, 1983 continuing the part through Spring 1987. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1987–1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 – 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994.
Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline.
In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off.
On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guides Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J.
Storylines
1979–1990
Alan James Quartermaine Jr. was introduced in December 1979, during a severe snow storm. At the time, his mother, Monica (Leslie Charleson) is on bed rest when is visited by co-worker, Dr. Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander) and her foster mother, Dr. Gail Baldwin (Susan Brown). The three women end up stranded when Monica goes into labor. As Lesley helps deliver the child, a delirious Monica admits that the infant is actually the son of Lesley's husband, Dr. Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Monica's husband, Alan (Stuart Damon) unaware of the affair must deal with his evil sister Tracy (Jane Elliot) planting seeds of doubt about Alan Jr.'s paternity. In early 1980, it is discovered that Alan Jr. has a heart condition and Rick comes back to Port Charles to perform the surgery. Rick soon confronts Alan, who is already aware of Alan Jr's paternity and claims the infant. However, Monica later discovers that Alan Jr. carries a birthmark identical to Alan's and a DNA test later confirms that the child is Alan's son. In 1981, Alan has an affair and had an illegitimate son, Jason with Susan Moore (Gail Ramsay). Monica and Alan separate when he moves in with Susan, and Monica files for sole custody of Alan Jr. However, they soon reconcile and Susan sues the Quartermaines for Jason's inheritance. After Susan's murder, Monica adopts Jason as her own. In 1987, signs of trouble erupt when Alan Jr. (feeling neglected by his troubled and busy parents) runs away and turns up at Kelly's diner. Knowing that his parents would be worried, Ruby notified Alan and Monica of his whereabouts. Alan Jr. and Jason are seen again when Monica, running for assistant chief of staff, has a picture taken with them to improve her public image. In 1988, Alan Jr., now known as A.J., is sent off to boarding school although he is home for a visit when his aunt Tracy returns to town.
A.J. graduates from boarding school in June 1991, which re-establishes his birth year as 1973. In early 1993, A.J. is aged again, re-establishing his birth year as 1969. In 1998, his birthday is celebrated on November 18.
1991–1999
Alan Jr., now going by the name A.J., leaves school, and ends up in jail for drunk driving. A.J. blames his troubled childhood while his grandmother, Lila (Anna Lee) promises to give him and his cousin, Ned (Wally Kurth) their inheritance if they can stay out of trouble for six months. Meanwhile, his parents remarry and his little brother, Jason returns home from boarding school. A.J. takes pleasure in reminding Jason that he is illegitimate. Meanwhile, Nikki Langton comes to town looking for revenge against Monica for her father, David's death. When her malpractice suit against Monica fails, she begins dating A.J. Nikki soon tricks A.J. into proposing marriage so she can get her hands on the Quartermaine fortune. In November 1992, A.J. is devastated when Nikki leaves him at the altar after Alan pays her to leave town. A.J. turns to alcohol to numb the pain.
After learning about his father's schemes, A.J. tracks Nikki to Malibu and attempts to win her back, but she has already married another man. A.J. begins drinking even more. In 1993, A.J. has an affair with Ned's former lover, Julia Barrett before she leaves town. Meanwhile, Alan becomes infatuated with Rhonda Wexler, much to Monica's dismay. After Rhonda is beaten up by her ex-boyfriend, Ray Conway, and Alan threatens him, Ray is discovered dead. A.J. finds Alan's cufflink at the scene and Alan confesses to the crime. A.J. frames Jagger Cates (Antonio Sabàto Jr.) for the murder to protect his father. In 1995, Alan and Monica adopt the orphaned Emily Bowen. In 1996, A.J. gets into a drunken car accident with Jason in the passenger seat and Jason suffers severe brain damage. Ned covers for A.J. and his guilt begins eating away at him. After waking up from a coma, Jason with no recollection of his past walks away from the family.
In March 1997, A.J. has a drunken one-night stand with the scheming Carly Roberts (Sarah Joy Brown). Fortunately, for Carly, A.J. has no recollection of escapade. Soon Carly announces she is pregnant and reunites with Tony Jones (Brad Maule). Carly fearing that A.J. would eventually remember the night the child was conceived drugs A.J. leading everyone to believe he had fallen of the wagon once again. However, Carly's plan backfires and A.J. stays in town. After being hypnotized, A.J. remembers his night with Carly, and confronts her. He promises to hide it from Tony, but demands a DNA test when the baby is born. Meanwhile, the Quartermaines are shocked when it comes out during Monica's sexual harassment trial that she and Ned had an affair years before, and several of the Quartermaines fell off the wagon, including A.J. His drinking grew worse, and he eventually admitted to being behind the wheel the night of the car accident. A.J. also becomes infatuated with Jason's ex-girlfriend, Keesha Ward but she rejects him.
Carly welcomes her son Michael in December 1997 and fears Tony and A.J. may learn the truth and try to take the boy away from her. Carly lies and claims Jason (Steve Burton) as the baby's father while she leaves town to recover from Postpartum. In 1998, A.J. meets his son when Jason's girlfriend, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), asks him to babysit. A.J. decides to patch things up with Carly to please his grandfather, Edward (John Ingle), who is adamant about keeping the Quartermaine's together under one roof. A.J. eventually wins Carly over and they marry on May 26, 1999, at the Quartermaine mansion, much to the dismay of both Alan and Monica. A.J. has difficulty bonding with Michael who has become attached to Jason. A.J. always suspects Carly of having an affair with Jason and when Carly announces she is pregnant, he assumes Jason is the father.
2000–2003, 2005
A.J. agrees to pass the child off as his own, to get revenge on Jason for hiding Michael's paternity. A.J. is furious when he learns that Carly's child is actually fathered by Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Sonny comes to claim the unborn child. In May 2000, Carly and A.J. get into an argument and she ends up falling down a flight of stairs, causing a miscarriage. A.J. is later disinherited by his family and forced to move out of the mansion. Meanwhile, Sonny and Carly schemed to gain custody of young Michael. Sonny kidnaps A.J. and threatens him into signing over his parental rights to Michael; Sonny later adopts Michael. A.J. became even more self-destructive and destroyed his relationship with Hannah Scott when nearly died from alcohol poisoning. When Monica has a health scare, A.J. decides to move back into the mansion and reconciles with his family. A.J. also bonds with his long lost sister, Skye Quartermaine (Robin Christopher) who also battled with alcoholism. Together, they planned to bring Michael back into the Quartermaine fold. In January 2002, A.J. begins pursuing Sonny's little sister, Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) in an effort to drive Sonny crazy and get Michael back.
In April 2002, A.J. marries Courtney and Sonny nearly kills him. A.J. offers to give Courtney a divorce if he gave Michael back but Sonny refuses the offer. A.J. eventually falls for Courtney and gave up his family for her. Sonny instructs Jason to watch over Courtney and A.J. is jealous of their budding relationship. He turns to alcohol and crashes his car through the Oasis strip club. Courtney becomes a stripper at the club to pay off his debt. A.J. burns down the club and Courtney convinces Jason to cover for him. Wanting Courtney to depend on him instead of Jason, A.J. hires the former owner of the Oasis, Coleman Ratcliffe (Blake Gibbons) to terrorize Courtney; however the plan backfires when Courtney learns the truth. Courtney wants to end the marriage and A.J. swears revenge on Jason. He teams up with Skye to frame Jason and Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) for the murder of Luis Alcazar (Ted King). A.J. gets his chance to run ELQ when he becomes CEO after Ned is falsely accused of rape. However, A.J.'s efforts to redeem himself came up short and he became involved with Lydia Karenin. The couple left town together after A.J. emptied his entire family's bank accounts.
A.J. returns in February 2005 to reveal that he and Courtney are still legally married when she announces her engagement to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). A.J. also kidnaps Sonny's kids including Michael; he fakes Michael's death and attempts to leave the country with the boy. Instead, A.J. returned to the Quartermaine mansion and Alan attempts to help his son. Jason finally comes to the rescues and A.J. ends up shooting Alan during a confrontation with Jason. A.J. ends up in the hospital with a broken back, and he is apparently murdered by Dr. Asher Thomas on April 26, 2005. Years earlier, A.J. hired Dr. Thomas to kill Jason and Alan had been using the information to blackmail him. Michael is initially one of the suspects but his name is cleared after the truth is discovered.
2012–2014
A.J. resurfaces alive in October 2012, appearing at the Quartermaine Estate to console Monica after Jason's death. It is revealed that after being murdered, A.J. was revived by Monica and Steven Webber, who then smuggled him out of the hospital to a rehab facility overseas, while everyone was led to think he had died. After being warned by Monica not to leave the estate, due to the pending charges still against him, he leaves and makes contact with Michael (Chad Duell), wanting to be the father to him that he should have always been. Michael makes his intentions known that he wants nothing to do with A.J.; however, after Carly (Laura Wright) confesses the truth about her relationship with A.J., he begins to open up to the idea of hearing him out. Carly begins to believe A.J. is alive after seeing him briefly on the docks. When she goes to ask Monica about A.J., she catches A.J. and Michael together. Despite Michael's protesting, Carly calls Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), who arrests A.J. on the charges against him. Monica arranges for house arrest for A.J. by putting the mansion up as collateral. Tracy convinces A.J. that Michael is in trouble, making him cut off his ankle monitor to help him. When he finds Michael, A.J. meets Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco), Jason's widow, and their son, A.J.'s nephew, Daniel. Thanks to Tracy's schemes, A.J. is arrested again but he is released on bail thanks to his lawyer, Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy) convincing the judge of Tracy's treachery. On November 20, A.J. is devastated when Edward passes away before he gets a chance to see him again. He reconnects with his sister Skye and meets his niece Lila Rae Alcazar, when they return for Edward's funeral. As of December 2012, Diane successfully gets all the charges against A.J. dropped in exchange for A.J. proving information on criminal, Cesar Faison (Anders Hove).
AJ battles for an extended period in 2013 for control of the Quartermaine business, ELQ, with Tracy Quartermaine after Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) ordered Robin Scorpio-Drake to revive his henchman Franco and make him Jerry's look-alike to poison Pickle Lila and Pickle Eddie before the starting of The Chew. After the reveal that Kiki Jerome (Kristen Alderson) is not a Quartermaine, Tracy reclaims the CEO position. A.J. is accused of murdering Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) when he has a drunken night and the letters AJ is written in blood. Sonny arrives at the Quartermaine mansion with a gun prepared to murder A.J. in retribution, but Michael manages to talk his stepfather down, warning him that if Sonny were to kill A.J. it would mean he's lost both his fathers, as Michael would never forgive him. Sonny leaves, and A.J. is arrested – though he continues to have no memory of committing the crime.
A.J. finally gets his day in court during the November sweeps with Michael and Kiki at his side. He is later acquitted of the crime, as "there was just not enough evidence to convict an innocent man". A.J., torn by the verdict because he feels guilty, continues to drink excessively. Through his drinking, A.J. begins to have flashbacks about the night of the murder. In one of these, he remembers that Ava was there on the night of Connie's murder. When he confronts her, Ava retains her innocence. However, in February 2014, A.J., after seeing Connie in illusions and having survived a botched assassination, begins to become more confident that Ava murdered Connie. In March 2014, after confronting Ava about killing Connie, Sonny walks in and shoots A.J. Julian is mistakenly found over A.J's body when police officers Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) arrive to Ava's apartment. A.J. falls into a coma, waking up twice, to tell Michael that Julian Jerome (William deVry) didn't shoot him, and the second time to tell Carly that Sonny shot him. A.J. dies after begging Carly to stay and telling her Sonny shot him, not giving her enough time to get to a nurse. His spirit haunts Sonny and is then ushered into heaven by Emily where he is greeted by his grandparents, Lila and Edward.
References
External links
Soap Central profile
General Hospital characters
Fictional criminals in soap operas
Fictional socialites
Fictional alcohol abusers
Fictional murdered people | false | [
"Al(l)an Qua(r)termain(e) may refer to:\n\n Allan Quatermain, a fictional character, the protagonist in the novel King Solomon's Mines\nAllan Quatermain (novel), an 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard\nAlan Quartermaine (General Hospital), a character on the soap opera General Hospital\nAllan Quartermaine (1888–1978), British civil engineer\nAlan Quartermaine (footballer) (born 1951), Australian rules footballer who played for East Perth Football Club\nAllan Quartermain (footballer) (1913–1985), Australian rules footballer\n\nSee also \nAllan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold, a 1986 film based on the character in King Solomon's Mines and its sequels\nAllan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls, another film based on the same character",
"Leon Quartermaine (24 September 1876 – 25 June 1967) was a British actor whose stage career, in Britain and the United States, extended from the early 1900s to the 1950s.\n\nHe was born in Richmond, London, and educated at the Whitgift School in Croydon, where one of his contemporaries was The Revd Harold Davidson, later unfrocked while Rector of Stiffkey. The pair acted together in a school production of the farce Sent to the Tower. In 1921 Quartermaine appeared with Fay Compton in a West End revival of J. M. Barrie's play Quality Street. In February 1922 Quartermaine and Compton married, and remained so until their divorce in 1942. Quartermaine made numerous appearances on Broadway between 1903 and 1935, including Laertes (Hamlet, 1904), Lieutenant Osborne in the American premiere of R. C. Sherriff's Journey's End (1929), and Malvolio (Twelfth Night, 1930). Quartermaine appeared in several films during the 1920s and 1930s, including As You Like It (1936) in which he co-starred as Jacques to Laurence Olivier's Orlando. After the Second World War, Quartermaine joined the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for the 1949 and 1950 Stratford festivals, in a company including John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Anthony Quayle and other leading Shakespearean actors, in Macbeth, Measure for Measure and Much Ado About Nothing. In 1951 he played the part of the Inquisitor in a BBC television adaptation of Shaw's Saint Joan.\n\nQuatermaine had first been married to Aimée de Burgh. After their divorce, and after his later marriage with Fay Compton was dissolved, he married Barbara Wilcox, who had appeared in The Cherry Orchard as Dunyasha at the Old Vic in 1933 when he appeared as Gaev.\n\nQuartermaine died on 25 June 1967, in Salisbury, Wiltshire. His younger brother Charles Quartermaine (who adopted the surname spelling \"Quatermaine\") was also an actor.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1876 births\n1967 deaths\nEnglish male film actors\nEnglish male stage actors\nPeople from Richmond, London\n20th-century English male actors\nPeople educated at Whitgift School"
]
|
[
"A. J. Quartermaine",
"Casting",
"Who played Quartermaine?",
"The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983."
]
| C_d7f3ec115a254822a045a747bebb49c3_1 | Who was cast in 1983? | 2 | Who was cast in Casting in 1983? | A. J. Quartermaine | The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994. Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline. In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off. On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guide's Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | A.J. Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Born on-screen in 1979 as the only biological child of the iconic Drs. Alan and Monica Quartermaine, A.J. was "SORASed" in 1991, revising his birth year to 1972. The role has been most notably portrayed by the actors Sean Kanan from 1993 to 1997 and Billy Warlock from 1997 to 2003, with a brief return in 2005. Kanan made his on-screen return as A.J. on October 26, 2012, after a 15-year absence. Kanan announced in March 2014 that he would once again be leaving the series, voicing his disappointment over the writing for the character.
Casting
The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary portrayed A.J. April 16, 1983 continuing the part through Spring 1987. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1987–1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 – 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994.
Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline.
In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off.
On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guides Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J.
Storylines
1979–1990
Alan James Quartermaine Jr. was introduced in December 1979, during a severe snow storm. At the time, his mother, Monica (Leslie Charleson) is on bed rest when is visited by co-worker, Dr. Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander) and her foster mother, Dr. Gail Baldwin (Susan Brown). The three women end up stranded when Monica goes into labor. As Lesley helps deliver the child, a delirious Monica admits that the infant is actually the son of Lesley's husband, Dr. Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Monica's husband, Alan (Stuart Damon) unaware of the affair must deal with his evil sister Tracy (Jane Elliot) planting seeds of doubt about Alan Jr.'s paternity. In early 1980, it is discovered that Alan Jr. has a heart condition and Rick comes back to Port Charles to perform the surgery. Rick soon confronts Alan, who is already aware of Alan Jr's paternity and claims the infant. However, Monica later discovers that Alan Jr. carries a birthmark identical to Alan's and a DNA test later confirms that the child is Alan's son. In 1981, Alan has an affair and had an illegitimate son, Jason with Susan Moore (Gail Ramsay). Monica and Alan separate when he moves in with Susan, and Monica files for sole custody of Alan Jr. However, they soon reconcile and Susan sues the Quartermaines for Jason's inheritance. After Susan's murder, Monica adopts Jason as her own. In 1987, signs of trouble erupt when Alan Jr. (feeling neglected by his troubled and busy parents) runs away and turns up at Kelly's diner. Knowing that his parents would be worried, Ruby notified Alan and Monica of his whereabouts. Alan Jr. and Jason are seen again when Monica, running for assistant chief of staff, has a picture taken with them to improve her public image. In 1988, Alan Jr., now known as A.J., is sent off to boarding school although he is home for a visit when his aunt Tracy returns to town.
A.J. graduates from boarding school in June 1991, which re-establishes his birth year as 1973. In early 1993, A.J. is aged again, re-establishing his birth year as 1969. In 1998, his birthday is celebrated on November 18.
1991–1999
Alan Jr., now going by the name A.J., leaves school, and ends up in jail for drunk driving. A.J. blames his troubled childhood while his grandmother, Lila (Anna Lee) promises to give him and his cousin, Ned (Wally Kurth) their inheritance if they can stay out of trouble for six months. Meanwhile, his parents remarry and his little brother, Jason returns home from boarding school. A.J. takes pleasure in reminding Jason that he is illegitimate. Meanwhile, Nikki Langton comes to town looking for revenge against Monica for her father, David's death. When her malpractice suit against Monica fails, she begins dating A.J. Nikki soon tricks A.J. into proposing marriage so she can get her hands on the Quartermaine fortune. In November 1992, A.J. is devastated when Nikki leaves him at the altar after Alan pays her to leave town. A.J. turns to alcohol to numb the pain.
After learning about his father's schemes, A.J. tracks Nikki to Malibu and attempts to win her back, but she has already married another man. A.J. begins drinking even more. In 1993, A.J. has an affair with Ned's former lover, Julia Barrett before she leaves town. Meanwhile, Alan becomes infatuated with Rhonda Wexler, much to Monica's dismay. After Rhonda is beaten up by her ex-boyfriend, Ray Conway, and Alan threatens him, Ray is discovered dead. A.J. finds Alan's cufflink at the scene and Alan confesses to the crime. A.J. frames Jagger Cates (Antonio Sabàto Jr.) for the murder to protect his father. In 1995, Alan and Monica adopt the orphaned Emily Bowen. In 1996, A.J. gets into a drunken car accident with Jason in the passenger seat and Jason suffers severe brain damage. Ned covers for A.J. and his guilt begins eating away at him. After waking up from a coma, Jason with no recollection of his past walks away from the family.
In March 1997, A.J. has a drunken one-night stand with the scheming Carly Roberts (Sarah Joy Brown). Fortunately, for Carly, A.J. has no recollection of escapade. Soon Carly announces she is pregnant and reunites with Tony Jones (Brad Maule). Carly fearing that A.J. would eventually remember the night the child was conceived drugs A.J. leading everyone to believe he had fallen of the wagon once again. However, Carly's plan backfires and A.J. stays in town. After being hypnotized, A.J. remembers his night with Carly, and confronts her. He promises to hide it from Tony, but demands a DNA test when the baby is born. Meanwhile, the Quartermaines are shocked when it comes out during Monica's sexual harassment trial that she and Ned had an affair years before, and several of the Quartermaines fell off the wagon, including A.J. His drinking grew worse, and he eventually admitted to being behind the wheel the night of the car accident. A.J. also becomes infatuated with Jason's ex-girlfriend, Keesha Ward but she rejects him.
Carly welcomes her son Michael in December 1997 and fears Tony and A.J. may learn the truth and try to take the boy away from her. Carly lies and claims Jason (Steve Burton) as the baby's father while she leaves town to recover from Postpartum. In 1998, A.J. meets his son when Jason's girlfriend, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), asks him to babysit. A.J. decides to patch things up with Carly to please his grandfather, Edward (John Ingle), who is adamant about keeping the Quartermaine's together under one roof. A.J. eventually wins Carly over and they marry on May 26, 1999, at the Quartermaine mansion, much to the dismay of both Alan and Monica. A.J. has difficulty bonding with Michael who has become attached to Jason. A.J. always suspects Carly of having an affair with Jason and when Carly announces she is pregnant, he assumes Jason is the father.
2000–2003, 2005
A.J. agrees to pass the child off as his own, to get revenge on Jason for hiding Michael's paternity. A.J. is furious when he learns that Carly's child is actually fathered by Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Sonny comes to claim the unborn child. In May 2000, Carly and A.J. get into an argument and she ends up falling down a flight of stairs, causing a miscarriage. A.J. is later disinherited by his family and forced to move out of the mansion. Meanwhile, Sonny and Carly schemed to gain custody of young Michael. Sonny kidnaps A.J. and threatens him into signing over his parental rights to Michael; Sonny later adopts Michael. A.J. became even more self-destructive and destroyed his relationship with Hannah Scott when nearly died from alcohol poisoning. When Monica has a health scare, A.J. decides to move back into the mansion and reconciles with his family. A.J. also bonds with his long lost sister, Skye Quartermaine (Robin Christopher) who also battled with alcoholism. Together, they planned to bring Michael back into the Quartermaine fold. In January 2002, A.J. begins pursuing Sonny's little sister, Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) in an effort to drive Sonny crazy and get Michael back.
In April 2002, A.J. marries Courtney and Sonny nearly kills him. A.J. offers to give Courtney a divorce if he gave Michael back but Sonny refuses the offer. A.J. eventually falls for Courtney and gave up his family for her. Sonny instructs Jason to watch over Courtney and A.J. is jealous of their budding relationship. He turns to alcohol and crashes his car through the Oasis strip club. Courtney becomes a stripper at the club to pay off his debt. A.J. burns down the club and Courtney convinces Jason to cover for him. Wanting Courtney to depend on him instead of Jason, A.J. hires the former owner of the Oasis, Coleman Ratcliffe (Blake Gibbons) to terrorize Courtney; however the plan backfires when Courtney learns the truth. Courtney wants to end the marriage and A.J. swears revenge on Jason. He teams up with Skye to frame Jason and Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) for the murder of Luis Alcazar (Ted King). A.J. gets his chance to run ELQ when he becomes CEO after Ned is falsely accused of rape. However, A.J.'s efforts to redeem himself came up short and he became involved with Lydia Karenin. The couple left town together after A.J. emptied his entire family's bank accounts.
A.J. returns in February 2005 to reveal that he and Courtney are still legally married when she announces her engagement to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). A.J. also kidnaps Sonny's kids including Michael; he fakes Michael's death and attempts to leave the country with the boy. Instead, A.J. returned to the Quartermaine mansion and Alan attempts to help his son. Jason finally comes to the rescues and A.J. ends up shooting Alan during a confrontation with Jason. A.J. ends up in the hospital with a broken back, and he is apparently murdered by Dr. Asher Thomas on April 26, 2005. Years earlier, A.J. hired Dr. Thomas to kill Jason and Alan had been using the information to blackmail him. Michael is initially one of the suspects but his name is cleared after the truth is discovered.
2012–2014
A.J. resurfaces alive in October 2012, appearing at the Quartermaine Estate to console Monica after Jason's death. It is revealed that after being murdered, A.J. was revived by Monica and Steven Webber, who then smuggled him out of the hospital to a rehab facility overseas, while everyone was led to think he had died. After being warned by Monica not to leave the estate, due to the pending charges still against him, he leaves and makes contact with Michael (Chad Duell), wanting to be the father to him that he should have always been. Michael makes his intentions known that he wants nothing to do with A.J.; however, after Carly (Laura Wright) confesses the truth about her relationship with A.J., he begins to open up to the idea of hearing him out. Carly begins to believe A.J. is alive after seeing him briefly on the docks. When she goes to ask Monica about A.J., she catches A.J. and Michael together. Despite Michael's protesting, Carly calls Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), who arrests A.J. on the charges against him. Monica arranges for house arrest for A.J. by putting the mansion up as collateral. Tracy convinces A.J. that Michael is in trouble, making him cut off his ankle monitor to help him. When he finds Michael, A.J. meets Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco), Jason's widow, and their son, A.J.'s nephew, Daniel. Thanks to Tracy's schemes, A.J. is arrested again but he is released on bail thanks to his lawyer, Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy) convincing the judge of Tracy's treachery. On November 20, A.J. is devastated when Edward passes away before he gets a chance to see him again. He reconnects with his sister Skye and meets his niece Lila Rae Alcazar, when they return for Edward's funeral. As of December 2012, Diane successfully gets all the charges against A.J. dropped in exchange for A.J. proving information on criminal, Cesar Faison (Anders Hove).
AJ battles for an extended period in 2013 for control of the Quartermaine business, ELQ, with Tracy Quartermaine after Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) ordered Robin Scorpio-Drake to revive his henchman Franco and make him Jerry's look-alike to poison Pickle Lila and Pickle Eddie before the starting of The Chew. After the reveal that Kiki Jerome (Kristen Alderson) is not a Quartermaine, Tracy reclaims the CEO position. A.J. is accused of murdering Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) when he has a drunken night and the letters AJ is written in blood. Sonny arrives at the Quartermaine mansion with a gun prepared to murder A.J. in retribution, but Michael manages to talk his stepfather down, warning him that if Sonny were to kill A.J. it would mean he's lost both his fathers, as Michael would never forgive him. Sonny leaves, and A.J. is arrested – though he continues to have no memory of committing the crime.
A.J. finally gets his day in court during the November sweeps with Michael and Kiki at his side. He is later acquitted of the crime, as "there was just not enough evidence to convict an innocent man". A.J., torn by the verdict because he feels guilty, continues to drink excessively. Through his drinking, A.J. begins to have flashbacks about the night of the murder. In one of these, he remembers that Ava was there on the night of Connie's murder. When he confronts her, Ava retains her innocence. However, in February 2014, A.J., after seeing Connie in illusions and having survived a botched assassination, begins to become more confident that Ava murdered Connie. In March 2014, after confronting Ava about killing Connie, Sonny walks in and shoots A.J. Julian is mistakenly found over A.J's body when police officers Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) arrive to Ava's apartment. A.J. falls into a coma, waking up twice, to tell Michael that Julian Jerome (William deVry) didn't shoot him, and the second time to tell Carly that Sonny shot him. A.J. dies after begging Carly to stay and telling her Sonny shot him, not giving her enough time to get to a nurse. His spirit haunts Sonny and is then ushered into heaven by Emily where he is greeted by his grandparents, Lila and Edward.
References
External links
Soap Central profile
General Hospital characters
Fictional criminals in soap operas
Fictional socialites
Fictional alcohol abusers
Fictional murdered people | false | [
"Julieta Cardinali (born October 21, 1977) is an Argentine film and television actress.\n\nCareer \nJulieta Cardinali began her career in television with the television show El show de Xuxa hosted by Xuxa. In 1995, she was part of the television program staff of Jugate con todo hosted by Cris Morena. In 1996, she was part of the cast of the television series Montaña rusa, otra vuelta. In 1997, she was part of the cast of the television series Sueltos. In 1997, she was part of the cast of the television series Como pan caliente. In 1997, she was part of the cast of the television series Naranja y media. In 1997, she was part of the cast of the television series Socios y más. In 1998, she was part of the cast of the television series Lo dijo papá. In 1998, she made her film debut, with the movie Buenos Aires me mata. From 1998 to 2000, she was part of the cast of the youth television series Verano del '98. In 2000, she acted in the movie Una noche con Sabrina Love. In 2001, she was part of the cast of the television series Los médicos de hoy. In 2001, she was part of the cast of the television series EnAmorArte. In 2001, she makes a small participation in the television series El Hacker 2001. In 2002, she was part of the cast of the television series Máximo corazón. In 2002, she was part of the cast of the television series Tiempo final. In 2002, she was part of the cast of the television series Maridos a domicilio. In 2002, she acted in the movie Valentín. In 2003, she was part of the cast of the television series Malandras. In 2003, she was part of the cast of the television series Disputas. In 2003, she acted in the movie El Nominado. In 2004, she was part of the cast of the television series Sangre fría. In 2004, she acted in the movie Un mundo menos peor. In 2005, she was part of the cast of the television series Numeral 15. In 2005, she acted in the movie Un Buda. In 2005, she acted in the movie La Suerte está echada. In 2006, she was part of the cast of the television series El tiempo no para. In 2006, she was part of the cast of the television series Soy tu fan. In 2007, she acted in the movie La Antena. In 2007, she acted in the movie ¿De quién es el portaligas?. In 2008, she acted in the movie 14, Fabian Road. In 2009, she was part of the cast of the television series Rosa, Violeta y Celeste. In 2009, she acted in the movie Tres deseos. In 2009, she acted in the movie El reclamo. In 2010, she was part of the cast of the television series Caín y Abel. In 2011, she was part of the cast of the television series Proyecto Aluvión. In 2012, she was part of the cast of the television series En terapia. In 2012, she acted in the movie Una cita, una fiesta y un gato negro. In 2013, she was part of the cast of the television series Farsantes. In 2013, she was the protagonist of the Spanish miniseries Carta a Eva. In 2013, she was part of the cast of the television series Lynch. In 2013, she acted in the movie Lectura según Justino. In 2014, she was part of the cast of the television series Señores Papis. In 2014, she acted in the movie Necrofobia. In 2014, she acted in the movie Los del suelo. In 2014, she acted in the movie El amor y otras historias. In 2015, she was part of the cast of the television series Viudas e hijos del Rock and Roll. In 2016, she was part of the cast of the television series Los ricos no piden permiso. In 2016, she was part of the cast of the television series Ultimátum. In 2016, she acted in the movie Ataúd blanco. In 2017, she acted in the movie Casi leyendas. In 2018, she was part of the cast of the television series Edha.\n\nPersonal life \nOn July 23, 2010, she married Andrés Calamaro, whom was her boyfriend for 5 years. On January 9, 2007, she gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl, whom they called Charo Calamaro Cardinali. The couple divorced in 2011.\n\nFilmography\n\nTelevision\n\nTelevision Programs\n\nMovies\n\nTheater\n\nAwards and Nominations\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n Julieta Cardinali interview at La Nación by Gabriela Navarra \n\n1977 births\nActresses from Buenos Aires\nArgentine film actresses\nLiving people",
"John Cragg (1767 – 17 July 1854) was an English ironmaster who ran a foundry in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He was born in Warrington (then in the historic county of Lancashire, now in the ceremonial county of Cheshire). His business was the Merseyside Iron Foundry, which was located in Tithebarn Street, Liverpool. Cragg was an enthusiast in the use of prefabricated ironwork in the structure of buildings, and in the early 19th century became interested in building churches. He had been discussing building a church in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, and in 1809 plans had been drawn up for this by J. M. Gandy. This church was never built, but in 1812 Cragg met Thomas Rickman, and together they designed the three churches in Liverpool incorporating Cragg's cast iron elements. The first of these was St George's Church, Everton (1813–14). The exterior of this church is largely in stone, but the framework of its interior, including the galleries, and the window tracery are in cast iron. The ceilings consist of slate slabs supported by cast iron rafters, which are decorated with cast iron tracery. The second church resulting from this collaboration was St Michael's Church, Aigburth (1813–15), Here, in addition to the cast iron framework of the interior, and the window tracery, the parapets, battlements, pinnacles, hoodmoulds, the dado, and other details are also in cast iron. The area around the church, known as St Michael's Hamlet contains five villas containing many cast iron features. The third cast iron church was St Philip's Church (1815–16) in Hardman Street, Liverpool, which was closed in 1882 and demolished. Some cast iron fragments have been incorporated in the fabric of the block of buildings now occupying the site of the churchyard. Cragg died on 17 July 1854, aged 87, and was buried in St James Cemetery, Liverpool.\n\nSee also\nThe Iron Church\n\nReferences\nCitations\n\nSources\n\n1767 births\n1854 deaths\nBusinesspeople from Liverpool\nPeople from Warrington"
]
|
[
"A. J. Quartermaine",
"Casting",
"Who played Quartermaine?",
"The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983.",
"Who was cast in 1983?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_d7f3ec115a254822a045a747bebb49c3_1 | What other actors played this role? | 3 | What other actors besides child actor Eric Kroh and Abraham Geary play in A. J. Quartermaine's role in Casting? | A. J. Quartermaine | The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994. Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline. In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off. On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guide's Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J. CANNOTANSWER | Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in | A.J. Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Born on-screen in 1979 as the only biological child of the iconic Drs. Alan and Monica Quartermaine, A.J. was "SORASed" in 1991, revising his birth year to 1972. The role has been most notably portrayed by the actors Sean Kanan from 1993 to 1997 and Billy Warlock from 1997 to 2003, with a brief return in 2005. Kanan made his on-screen return as A.J. on October 26, 2012, after a 15-year absence. Kanan announced in March 2014 that he would once again be leaving the series, voicing his disappointment over the writing for the character.
Casting
The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary portrayed A.J. April 16, 1983 continuing the part through Spring 1987. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1987–1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 – 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994.
Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline.
In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off.
On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guides Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J.
Storylines
1979–1990
Alan James Quartermaine Jr. was introduced in December 1979, during a severe snow storm. At the time, his mother, Monica (Leslie Charleson) is on bed rest when is visited by co-worker, Dr. Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander) and her foster mother, Dr. Gail Baldwin (Susan Brown). The three women end up stranded when Monica goes into labor. As Lesley helps deliver the child, a delirious Monica admits that the infant is actually the son of Lesley's husband, Dr. Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Monica's husband, Alan (Stuart Damon) unaware of the affair must deal with his evil sister Tracy (Jane Elliot) planting seeds of doubt about Alan Jr.'s paternity. In early 1980, it is discovered that Alan Jr. has a heart condition and Rick comes back to Port Charles to perform the surgery. Rick soon confronts Alan, who is already aware of Alan Jr's paternity and claims the infant. However, Monica later discovers that Alan Jr. carries a birthmark identical to Alan's and a DNA test later confirms that the child is Alan's son. In 1981, Alan has an affair and had an illegitimate son, Jason with Susan Moore (Gail Ramsay). Monica and Alan separate when he moves in with Susan, and Monica files for sole custody of Alan Jr. However, they soon reconcile and Susan sues the Quartermaines for Jason's inheritance. After Susan's murder, Monica adopts Jason as her own. In 1987, signs of trouble erupt when Alan Jr. (feeling neglected by his troubled and busy parents) runs away and turns up at Kelly's diner. Knowing that his parents would be worried, Ruby notified Alan and Monica of his whereabouts. Alan Jr. and Jason are seen again when Monica, running for assistant chief of staff, has a picture taken with them to improve her public image. In 1988, Alan Jr., now known as A.J., is sent off to boarding school although he is home for a visit when his aunt Tracy returns to town.
A.J. graduates from boarding school in June 1991, which re-establishes his birth year as 1973. In early 1993, A.J. is aged again, re-establishing his birth year as 1969. In 1998, his birthday is celebrated on November 18.
1991–1999
Alan Jr., now going by the name A.J., leaves school, and ends up in jail for drunk driving. A.J. blames his troubled childhood while his grandmother, Lila (Anna Lee) promises to give him and his cousin, Ned (Wally Kurth) their inheritance if they can stay out of trouble for six months. Meanwhile, his parents remarry and his little brother, Jason returns home from boarding school. A.J. takes pleasure in reminding Jason that he is illegitimate. Meanwhile, Nikki Langton comes to town looking for revenge against Monica for her father, David's death. When her malpractice suit against Monica fails, she begins dating A.J. Nikki soon tricks A.J. into proposing marriage so she can get her hands on the Quartermaine fortune. In November 1992, A.J. is devastated when Nikki leaves him at the altar after Alan pays her to leave town. A.J. turns to alcohol to numb the pain.
After learning about his father's schemes, A.J. tracks Nikki to Malibu and attempts to win her back, but she has already married another man. A.J. begins drinking even more. In 1993, A.J. has an affair with Ned's former lover, Julia Barrett before she leaves town. Meanwhile, Alan becomes infatuated with Rhonda Wexler, much to Monica's dismay. After Rhonda is beaten up by her ex-boyfriend, Ray Conway, and Alan threatens him, Ray is discovered dead. A.J. finds Alan's cufflink at the scene and Alan confesses to the crime. A.J. frames Jagger Cates (Antonio Sabàto Jr.) for the murder to protect his father. In 1995, Alan and Monica adopt the orphaned Emily Bowen. In 1996, A.J. gets into a drunken car accident with Jason in the passenger seat and Jason suffers severe brain damage. Ned covers for A.J. and his guilt begins eating away at him. After waking up from a coma, Jason with no recollection of his past walks away from the family.
In March 1997, A.J. has a drunken one-night stand with the scheming Carly Roberts (Sarah Joy Brown). Fortunately, for Carly, A.J. has no recollection of escapade. Soon Carly announces she is pregnant and reunites with Tony Jones (Brad Maule). Carly fearing that A.J. would eventually remember the night the child was conceived drugs A.J. leading everyone to believe he had fallen of the wagon once again. However, Carly's plan backfires and A.J. stays in town. After being hypnotized, A.J. remembers his night with Carly, and confronts her. He promises to hide it from Tony, but demands a DNA test when the baby is born. Meanwhile, the Quartermaines are shocked when it comes out during Monica's sexual harassment trial that she and Ned had an affair years before, and several of the Quartermaines fell off the wagon, including A.J. His drinking grew worse, and he eventually admitted to being behind the wheel the night of the car accident. A.J. also becomes infatuated with Jason's ex-girlfriend, Keesha Ward but she rejects him.
Carly welcomes her son Michael in December 1997 and fears Tony and A.J. may learn the truth and try to take the boy away from her. Carly lies and claims Jason (Steve Burton) as the baby's father while she leaves town to recover from Postpartum. In 1998, A.J. meets his son when Jason's girlfriend, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), asks him to babysit. A.J. decides to patch things up with Carly to please his grandfather, Edward (John Ingle), who is adamant about keeping the Quartermaine's together under one roof. A.J. eventually wins Carly over and they marry on May 26, 1999, at the Quartermaine mansion, much to the dismay of both Alan and Monica. A.J. has difficulty bonding with Michael who has become attached to Jason. A.J. always suspects Carly of having an affair with Jason and when Carly announces she is pregnant, he assumes Jason is the father.
2000–2003, 2005
A.J. agrees to pass the child off as his own, to get revenge on Jason for hiding Michael's paternity. A.J. is furious when he learns that Carly's child is actually fathered by Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Sonny comes to claim the unborn child. In May 2000, Carly and A.J. get into an argument and she ends up falling down a flight of stairs, causing a miscarriage. A.J. is later disinherited by his family and forced to move out of the mansion. Meanwhile, Sonny and Carly schemed to gain custody of young Michael. Sonny kidnaps A.J. and threatens him into signing over his parental rights to Michael; Sonny later adopts Michael. A.J. became even more self-destructive and destroyed his relationship with Hannah Scott when nearly died from alcohol poisoning. When Monica has a health scare, A.J. decides to move back into the mansion and reconciles with his family. A.J. also bonds with his long lost sister, Skye Quartermaine (Robin Christopher) who also battled with alcoholism. Together, they planned to bring Michael back into the Quartermaine fold. In January 2002, A.J. begins pursuing Sonny's little sister, Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) in an effort to drive Sonny crazy and get Michael back.
In April 2002, A.J. marries Courtney and Sonny nearly kills him. A.J. offers to give Courtney a divorce if he gave Michael back but Sonny refuses the offer. A.J. eventually falls for Courtney and gave up his family for her. Sonny instructs Jason to watch over Courtney and A.J. is jealous of their budding relationship. He turns to alcohol and crashes his car through the Oasis strip club. Courtney becomes a stripper at the club to pay off his debt. A.J. burns down the club and Courtney convinces Jason to cover for him. Wanting Courtney to depend on him instead of Jason, A.J. hires the former owner of the Oasis, Coleman Ratcliffe (Blake Gibbons) to terrorize Courtney; however the plan backfires when Courtney learns the truth. Courtney wants to end the marriage and A.J. swears revenge on Jason. He teams up with Skye to frame Jason and Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) for the murder of Luis Alcazar (Ted King). A.J. gets his chance to run ELQ when he becomes CEO after Ned is falsely accused of rape. However, A.J.'s efforts to redeem himself came up short and he became involved with Lydia Karenin. The couple left town together after A.J. emptied his entire family's bank accounts.
A.J. returns in February 2005 to reveal that he and Courtney are still legally married when she announces her engagement to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). A.J. also kidnaps Sonny's kids including Michael; he fakes Michael's death and attempts to leave the country with the boy. Instead, A.J. returned to the Quartermaine mansion and Alan attempts to help his son. Jason finally comes to the rescues and A.J. ends up shooting Alan during a confrontation with Jason. A.J. ends up in the hospital with a broken back, and he is apparently murdered by Dr. Asher Thomas on April 26, 2005. Years earlier, A.J. hired Dr. Thomas to kill Jason and Alan had been using the information to blackmail him. Michael is initially one of the suspects but his name is cleared after the truth is discovered.
2012–2014
A.J. resurfaces alive in October 2012, appearing at the Quartermaine Estate to console Monica after Jason's death. It is revealed that after being murdered, A.J. was revived by Monica and Steven Webber, who then smuggled him out of the hospital to a rehab facility overseas, while everyone was led to think he had died. After being warned by Monica not to leave the estate, due to the pending charges still against him, he leaves and makes contact with Michael (Chad Duell), wanting to be the father to him that he should have always been. Michael makes his intentions known that he wants nothing to do with A.J.; however, after Carly (Laura Wright) confesses the truth about her relationship with A.J., he begins to open up to the idea of hearing him out. Carly begins to believe A.J. is alive after seeing him briefly on the docks. When she goes to ask Monica about A.J., she catches A.J. and Michael together. Despite Michael's protesting, Carly calls Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), who arrests A.J. on the charges against him. Monica arranges for house arrest for A.J. by putting the mansion up as collateral. Tracy convinces A.J. that Michael is in trouble, making him cut off his ankle monitor to help him. When he finds Michael, A.J. meets Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco), Jason's widow, and their son, A.J.'s nephew, Daniel. Thanks to Tracy's schemes, A.J. is arrested again but he is released on bail thanks to his lawyer, Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy) convincing the judge of Tracy's treachery. On November 20, A.J. is devastated when Edward passes away before he gets a chance to see him again. He reconnects with his sister Skye and meets his niece Lila Rae Alcazar, when they return for Edward's funeral. As of December 2012, Diane successfully gets all the charges against A.J. dropped in exchange for A.J. proving information on criminal, Cesar Faison (Anders Hove).
AJ battles for an extended period in 2013 for control of the Quartermaine business, ELQ, with Tracy Quartermaine after Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) ordered Robin Scorpio-Drake to revive his henchman Franco and make him Jerry's look-alike to poison Pickle Lila and Pickle Eddie before the starting of The Chew. After the reveal that Kiki Jerome (Kristen Alderson) is not a Quartermaine, Tracy reclaims the CEO position. A.J. is accused of murdering Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) when he has a drunken night and the letters AJ is written in blood. Sonny arrives at the Quartermaine mansion with a gun prepared to murder A.J. in retribution, but Michael manages to talk his stepfather down, warning him that if Sonny were to kill A.J. it would mean he's lost both his fathers, as Michael would never forgive him. Sonny leaves, and A.J. is arrested – though he continues to have no memory of committing the crime.
A.J. finally gets his day in court during the November sweeps with Michael and Kiki at his side. He is later acquitted of the crime, as "there was just not enough evidence to convict an innocent man". A.J., torn by the verdict because he feels guilty, continues to drink excessively. Through his drinking, A.J. begins to have flashbacks about the night of the murder. In one of these, he remembers that Ava was there on the night of Connie's murder. When he confronts her, Ava retains her innocence. However, in February 2014, A.J., after seeing Connie in illusions and having survived a botched assassination, begins to become more confident that Ava murdered Connie. In March 2014, after confronting Ava about killing Connie, Sonny walks in and shoots A.J. Julian is mistakenly found over A.J's body when police officers Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) arrive to Ava's apartment. A.J. falls into a coma, waking up twice, to tell Michael that Julian Jerome (William deVry) didn't shoot him, and the second time to tell Carly that Sonny shot him. A.J. dies after begging Carly to stay and telling her Sonny shot him, not giving her enough time to get to a nurse. His spirit haunts Sonny and is then ushered into heaven by Emily where he is greeted by his grandparents, Lila and Edward.
References
External links
Soap Central profile
General Hospital characters
Fictional criminals in soap operas
Fictional socialites
Fictional alcohol abusers
Fictional murdered people | false | [
"An actor in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) \"specifies a role played by a user or any other system that interacts with the subject.\"\n\n\"An Actor models a type of role played by an entity that interacts with the subject (e.g., by exchanging signals and data),\nbut which is external to the subject.\"\n\n\"Actors may represent roles played by human users, external hardware, or other subjects. Actors do not necessarily represent specific physical entities but merely particular facets (i.e., “roles”) of some entities that are relevant to the specification of its associated use cases. A single physical instance may play the role of several different actors and a given actor may be played by multiple different instances.\"\n\nUML 2 does not permit associations between Actors. The use of generalization/specialization relationship between actors is useful in modeling overlapping behaviours between actors and does not violate this constraint since a generalization relation is not a type of association.\n\nActors interact with use cases.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Illustration of actors in UML\n Actor in UML 2\n\nUnified Modeling Language",
"Earl John Hindman (October 20, 1942 – December 29, 2003) was an American actor, best known for his role as the kindly unseen neighbor Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. on the television sitcom Home Improvement (1991–99).\n\nLong before this role, however, he played villains in two 1974 thrillers, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and The Parallax View. He also appeared in the films Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? (1971), Greased Lightning (1977), The Brink's Job (1978), Taps (1981), Murder in Coweta County (1983), and played the part of J.T. in the Lawrence Kasdan film Silverado (1985).\n\nHindman's most famous pre-Home Improvement role was as Bob Reid in Ryan's Hope. He played the role from 1975–84 and later returned for its final episodes in 1988–89. Hindman's wife (Molly McGreevey) was also on the soap 1977–81 as Polly Longworth, best friend to media tycoon Rae Woodard.\n\nPersonal life and death\nHindman was born in Bisbee, Arizona, the son of Eula and Burl Latney Hindman, who worked in the oil pipeline business. He studied acting at the University of Arizona.\n\nOn May 21, 1976, Hindman married Molly McGreevey, with whom he later acted on Ryan's Hope. McGreevey later became an Episcopal priest.\n\nHindman died of lung cancer on December 29, 2003, at the age of 61, in Stamford, Connecticut.\n\nFilmography\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\n1942 births\n2003 deaths\n20th-century American male actors\n21st-century American male actors\nAmerican male film actors\nAmerican male soap opera actors\nAmerican male television actors\nBurials in Connecticut\nDeaths from cancer in Connecticut\nDeaths from lung cancer\nMale actors from Arizona\nMale actors from Stamford, Connecticut\nPeople from Bisbee, Arizona\nUniversity of Arizona alumni"
]
|
[
"A. J. Quartermaine",
"Casting",
"Who played Quartermaine?",
"The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983.",
"Who was cast in 1983?",
"I don't know.",
"What other actors played this role?",
"Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in"
]
| C_d7f3ec115a254822a045a747bebb49c3_1 | Were there any other actors? | 4 | Were there any other actors besides child actor Eric Kroh, Abraham Geary, Jason Marsden, Justin Whalin and Gerald Hopkins in Casting? | A. J. Quartermaine | The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994. Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline. In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off. On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guide's Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J. CANNOTANSWER | actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. | A.J. Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Born on-screen in 1979 as the only biological child of the iconic Drs. Alan and Monica Quartermaine, A.J. was "SORASed" in 1991, revising his birth year to 1972. The role has been most notably portrayed by the actors Sean Kanan from 1993 to 1997 and Billy Warlock from 1997 to 2003, with a brief return in 2005. Kanan made his on-screen return as A.J. on October 26, 2012, after a 15-year absence. Kanan announced in March 2014 that he would once again be leaving the series, voicing his disappointment over the writing for the character.
Casting
The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary portrayed A.J. April 16, 1983 continuing the part through Spring 1987. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1987–1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 – 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994.
Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline.
In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off.
On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guides Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J.
Storylines
1979–1990
Alan James Quartermaine Jr. was introduced in December 1979, during a severe snow storm. At the time, his mother, Monica (Leslie Charleson) is on bed rest when is visited by co-worker, Dr. Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander) and her foster mother, Dr. Gail Baldwin (Susan Brown). The three women end up stranded when Monica goes into labor. As Lesley helps deliver the child, a delirious Monica admits that the infant is actually the son of Lesley's husband, Dr. Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Monica's husband, Alan (Stuart Damon) unaware of the affair must deal with his evil sister Tracy (Jane Elliot) planting seeds of doubt about Alan Jr.'s paternity. In early 1980, it is discovered that Alan Jr. has a heart condition and Rick comes back to Port Charles to perform the surgery. Rick soon confronts Alan, who is already aware of Alan Jr's paternity and claims the infant. However, Monica later discovers that Alan Jr. carries a birthmark identical to Alan's and a DNA test later confirms that the child is Alan's son. In 1981, Alan has an affair and had an illegitimate son, Jason with Susan Moore (Gail Ramsay). Monica and Alan separate when he moves in with Susan, and Monica files for sole custody of Alan Jr. However, they soon reconcile and Susan sues the Quartermaines for Jason's inheritance. After Susan's murder, Monica adopts Jason as her own. In 1987, signs of trouble erupt when Alan Jr. (feeling neglected by his troubled and busy parents) runs away and turns up at Kelly's diner. Knowing that his parents would be worried, Ruby notified Alan and Monica of his whereabouts. Alan Jr. and Jason are seen again when Monica, running for assistant chief of staff, has a picture taken with them to improve her public image. In 1988, Alan Jr., now known as A.J., is sent off to boarding school although he is home for a visit when his aunt Tracy returns to town.
A.J. graduates from boarding school in June 1991, which re-establishes his birth year as 1973. In early 1993, A.J. is aged again, re-establishing his birth year as 1969. In 1998, his birthday is celebrated on November 18.
1991–1999
Alan Jr., now going by the name A.J., leaves school, and ends up in jail for drunk driving. A.J. blames his troubled childhood while his grandmother, Lila (Anna Lee) promises to give him and his cousin, Ned (Wally Kurth) their inheritance if they can stay out of trouble for six months. Meanwhile, his parents remarry and his little brother, Jason returns home from boarding school. A.J. takes pleasure in reminding Jason that he is illegitimate. Meanwhile, Nikki Langton comes to town looking for revenge against Monica for her father, David's death. When her malpractice suit against Monica fails, she begins dating A.J. Nikki soon tricks A.J. into proposing marriage so she can get her hands on the Quartermaine fortune. In November 1992, A.J. is devastated when Nikki leaves him at the altar after Alan pays her to leave town. A.J. turns to alcohol to numb the pain.
After learning about his father's schemes, A.J. tracks Nikki to Malibu and attempts to win her back, but she has already married another man. A.J. begins drinking even more. In 1993, A.J. has an affair with Ned's former lover, Julia Barrett before she leaves town. Meanwhile, Alan becomes infatuated with Rhonda Wexler, much to Monica's dismay. After Rhonda is beaten up by her ex-boyfriend, Ray Conway, and Alan threatens him, Ray is discovered dead. A.J. finds Alan's cufflink at the scene and Alan confesses to the crime. A.J. frames Jagger Cates (Antonio Sabàto Jr.) for the murder to protect his father. In 1995, Alan and Monica adopt the orphaned Emily Bowen. In 1996, A.J. gets into a drunken car accident with Jason in the passenger seat and Jason suffers severe brain damage. Ned covers for A.J. and his guilt begins eating away at him. After waking up from a coma, Jason with no recollection of his past walks away from the family.
In March 1997, A.J. has a drunken one-night stand with the scheming Carly Roberts (Sarah Joy Brown). Fortunately, for Carly, A.J. has no recollection of escapade. Soon Carly announces she is pregnant and reunites with Tony Jones (Brad Maule). Carly fearing that A.J. would eventually remember the night the child was conceived drugs A.J. leading everyone to believe he had fallen of the wagon once again. However, Carly's plan backfires and A.J. stays in town. After being hypnotized, A.J. remembers his night with Carly, and confronts her. He promises to hide it from Tony, but demands a DNA test when the baby is born. Meanwhile, the Quartermaines are shocked when it comes out during Monica's sexual harassment trial that she and Ned had an affair years before, and several of the Quartermaines fell off the wagon, including A.J. His drinking grew worse, and he eventually admitted to being behind the wheel the night of the car accident. A.J. also becomes infatuated with Jason's ex-girlfriend, Keesha Ward but she rejects him.
Carly welcomes her son Michael in December 1997 and fears Tony and A.J. may learn the truth and try to take the boy away from her. Carly lies and claims Jason (Steve Burton) as the baby's father while she leaves town to recover from Postpartum. In 1998, A.J. meets his son when Jason's girlfriend, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), asks him to babysit. A.J. decides to patch things up with Carly to please his grandfather, Edward (John Ingle), who is adamant about keeping the Quartermaine's together under one roof. A.J. eventually wins Carly over and they marry on May 26, 1999, at the Quartermaine mansion, much to the dismay of both Alan and Monica. A.J. has difficulty bonding with Michael who has become attached to Jason. A.J. always suspects Carly of having an affair with Jason and when Carly announces she is pregnant, he assumes Jason is the father.
2000–2003, 2005
A.J. agrees to pass the child off as his own, to get revenge on Jason for hiding Michael's paternity. A.J. is furious when he learns that Carly's child is actually fathered by Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Sonny comes to claim the unborn child. In May 2000, Carly and A.J. get into an argument and she ends up falling down a flight of stairs, causing a miscarriage. A.J. is later disinherited by his family and forced to move out of the mansion. Meanwhile, Sonny and Carly schemed to gain custody of young Michael. Sonny kidnaps A.J. and threatens him into signing over his parental rights to Michael; Sonny later adopts Michael. A.J. became even more self-destructive and destroyed his relationship with Hannah Scott when nearly died from alcohol poisoning. When Monica has a health scare, A.J. decides to move back into the mansion and reconciles with his family. A.J. also bonds with his long lost sister, Skye Quartermaine (Robin Christopher) who also battled with alcoholism. Together, they planned to bring Michael back into the Quartermaine fold. In January 2002, A.J. begins pursuing Sonny's little sister, Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) in an effort to drive Sonny crazy and get Michael back.
In April 2002, A.J. marries Courtney and Sonny nearly kills him. A.J. offers to give Courtney a divorce if he gave Michael back but Sonny refuses the offer. A.J. eventually falls for Courtney and gave up his family for her. Sonny instructs Jason to watch over Courtney and A.J. is jealous of their budding relationship. He turns to alcohol and crashes his car through the Oasis strip club. Courtney becomes a stripper at the club to pay off his debt. A.J. burns down the club and Courtney convinces Jason to cover for him. Wanting Courtney to depend on him instead of Jason, A.J. hires the former owner of the Oasis, Coleman Ratcliffe (Blake Gibbons) to terrorize Courtney; however the plan backfires when Courtney learns the truth. Courtney wants to end the marriage and A.J. swears revenge on Jason. He teams up with Skye to frame Jason and Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) for the murder of Luis Alcazar (Ted King). A.J. gets his chance to run ELQ when he becomes CEO after Ned is falsely accused of rape. However, A.J.'s efforts to redeem himself came up short and he became involved with Lydia Karenin. The couple left town together after A.J. emptied his entire family's bank accounts.
A.J. returns in February 2005 to reveal that he and Courtney are still legally married when she announces her engagement to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). A.J. also kidnaps Sonny's kids including Michael; he fakes Michael's death and attempts to leave the country with the boy. Instead, A.J. returned to the Quartermaine mansion and Alan attempts to help his son. Jason finally comes to the rescues and A.J. ends up shooting Alan during a confrontation with Jason. A.J. ends up in the hospital with a broken back, and he is apparently murdered by Dr. Asher Thomas on April 26, 2005. Years earlier, A.J. hired Dr. Thomas to kill Jason and Alan had been using the information to blackmail him. Michael is initially one of the suspects but his name is cleared after the truth is discovered.
2012–2014
A.J. resurfaces alive in October 2012, appearing at the Quartermaine Estate to console Monica after Jason's death. It is revealed that after being murdered, A.J. was revived by Monica and Steven Webber, who then smuggled him out of the hospital to a rehab facility overseas, while everyone was led to think he had died. After being warned by Monica not to leave the estate, due to the pending charges still against him, he leaves and makes contact with Michael (Chad Duell), wanting to be the father to him that he should have always been. Michael makes his intentions known that he wants nothing to do with A.J.; however, after Carly (Laura Wright) confesses the truth about her relationship with A.J., he begins to open up to the idea of hearing him out. Carly begins to believe A.J. is alive after seeing him briefly on the docks. When she goes to ask Monica about A.J., she catches A.J. and Michael together. Despite Michael's protesting, Carly calls Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), who arrests A.J. on the charges against him. Monica arranges for house arrest for A.J. by putting the mansion up as collateral. Tracy convinces A.J. that Michael is in trouble, making him cut off his ankle monitor to help him. When he finds Michael, A.J. meets Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco), Jason's widow, and their son, A.J.'s nephew, Daniel. Thanks to Tracy's schemes, A.J. is arrested again but he is released on bail thanks to his lawyer, Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy) convincing the judge of Tracy's treachery. On November 20, A.J. is devastated when Edward passes away before he gets a chance to see him again. He reconnects with his sister Skye and meets his niece Lila Rae Alcazar, when they return for Edward's funeral. As of December 2012, Diane successfully gets all the charges against A.J. dropped in exchange for A.J. proving information on criminal, Cesar Faison (Anders Hove).
AJ battles for an extended period in 2013 for control of the Quartermaine business, ELQ, with Tracy Quartermaine after Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) ordered Robin Scorpio-Drake to revive his henchman Franco and make him Jerry's look-alike to poison Pickle Lila and Pickle Eddie before the starting of The Chew. After the reveal that Kiki Jerome (Kristen Alderson) is not a Quartermaine, Tracy reclaims the CEO position. A.J. is accused of murdering Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) when he has a drunken night and the letters AJ is written in blood. Sonny arrives at the Quartermaine mansion with a gun prepared to murder A.J. in retribution, but Michael manages to talk his stepfather down, warning him that if Sonny were to kill A.J. it would mean he's lost both his fathers, as Michael would never forgive him. Sonny leaves, and A.J. is arrested – though he continues to have no memory of committing the crime.
A.J. finally gets his day in court during the November sweeps with Michael and Kiki at his side. He is later acquitted of the crime, as "there was just not enough evidence to convict an innocent man". A.J., torn by the verdict because he feels guilty, continues to drink excessively. Through his drinking, A.J. begins to have flashbacks about the night of the murder. In one of these, he remembers that Ava was there on the night of Connie's murder. When he confronts her, Ava retains her innocence. However, in February 2014, A.J., after seeing Connie in illusions and having survived a botched assassination, begins to become more confident that Ava murdered Connie. In March 2014, after confronting Ava about killing Connie, Sonny walks in and shoots A.J. Julian is mistakenly found over A.J's body when police officers Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) arrive to Ava's apartment. A.J. falls into a coma, waking up twice, to tell Michael that Julian Jerome (William deVry) didn't shoot him, and the second time to tell Carly that Sonny shot him. A.J. dies after begging Carly to stay and telling her Sonny shot him, not giving her enough time to get to a nurse. His spirit haunts Sonny and is then ushered into heaven by Emily where he is greeted by his grandparents, Lila and Edward.
References
External links
Soap Central profile
General Hospital characters
Fictional criminals in soap operas
Fictional socialites
Fictional alcohol abusers
Fictional murdered people | true | [
"The list of Saw cast members is a list of actors who voiced or portrayed characters appearing in the Saw franchise created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell. Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) is the only actor to make appearances in all eight films, throughout which he is complemented on screen by actors ranging from well-known ones such as Danny Glover, Cary Elwes, and Donnie Wahlberg to lesser-known actors such as Dina Meyer and Lyriq Bent, among others. While many actors reprise their roles for cameos and minor appearances, the only actors besides Bell and Shawnee Smith to appear with major roles in more than three films were Costas Mandylor (Mark Hoffman) and Betsy Russell (Jill Tuck), both of whom appear in the latter five installments of the series.\n\nIn other Saw media, a significant number of actors have either been replaced or omitted from appearing. In the video game, Tobin Bell was the only actor to reprise his role from the films. Other characters such as Amanda Young, Obi Tate, and Jeff Ridenhour all returned but were voiced by other actors. Other characters, including Pamela Jenkins and Steven Sing were mentioned but did not make any appearance. For the Saw roller coaster, Billy the Puppet was the only character to appear, with no voice provided for him. The lack of characters present is attributed to the physical restraints of actors in a roller coaster. A prequel comic book, Saw: Rebirth, featured many recurring characters but little actor corresponding or likeness' due to the comic not being supported by Twisted Pictures. Other actors likenesses were used in place of the films' actors.\n\nWhile the films have not replaced any actors, their scripts have been altered to omit certain characters due to a number of conflicts. Cary Elwes' character, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, did not appear in subsequent films after Saw due to a lawsuit from payment issues for Elwes, although his character has been referenced many times since. Elwes reprised his character in the seventh film, Saw 3D.\n\nCast\n\nReferences\n\ncast members\nSaw",
"Yakusha-e (役者絵), often referred to as \"actor prints\" in English, are Japanese woodblock prints or, rarely, paintings, of kabuki actors, particularly those done in the ukiyo-e style popular through the Edo period (1603–1867) and into the beginnings of the 20th century. Most strictly, the term yakusha-e refers solely to portraits of individual artists (or sometimes pairs, as seen in this work by Sharaku). However, prints of kabuki scenes and of other elements of the world of the theater are very closely related, and were more often than not produced and sold alongside portraits.\n\nUkiyo-e images were almost exclusively images of urban life; the vast majority that were not landscapes were devoted to depicting courtesans, sumo, or kabuki.\n\nRealistic detail, inscriptions, the availability of playbills from the period, and a number of other resources have allowed many prints to be analyzed and identified in great detail. Scholars have been able to identify the subjects of many prints down to not only the play, roles, and actors portrayed, but often the theater, year, month, and even day of the month as well.\n\nDevelopment of the form\n\nOver the course of the Edo period, as ukiyo-e as a whole developed and changed as a genre, yakusha-e went through a number of changes as well. Many prints, particularly earlier ones, depict actors generically, and very plainly, showing in a sense their true natures as actors merely playing at roles. Many other prints, meanwhile, take something of the opposite tack; they show kabuki actors and scenes very elaborately, intentionally obscuring the distinction between a play and the actual events it seeks to evoke.\n\nOnly a few artists were innovative enough to stand apart from the masses, creating works more distinctive in style. These artists, beginning with Katsukawa Shunshō, depicted actors elaborately and idealistically, but with the realistic details of individualized faces. Individual actors, such as Ichikawa Danjūrō V, can now be recognized across roles and even as depicted by different artists.\n\nTorii Kiyonobu (1664–1729) was likely one of the first to produce actor prints in the mainstream ukiyo-e style. An artist from the Torii school which painted theater signboards, Kiyonobu was no stranger to the theater or to artistic depictions of it. In 1700, he published a book of full-length portraits of Edo kabuki actors in various roles. Though he took much, stylistically, from the Torii school style as a whole, there are significant elements of his style that were innovative and new. His dramatic forms would guide the core of ukiyo-e style for the next eighty years. It is possible that his prints may have even affected kabuki itself, as actors sought to match their performances to the dramatic, bombastic, and intense poses of the art.\n\nBy the 1740s, artists such as Torii Kiyotada were making prints depicting not only the actors themselves, in portraits or in stage scenes, but the theaters themselves, including the audience, architecture, and various staging elements.\n\nThroughout the 18th century, many ukiyo-e artists produced actor prints and other depictions of the kabuki world. Most of these drew strongly upon the Torii style, and were essentially promotional works, \"generalized, highly stylized billboards meant to attract the crowd with their bold line and color\". It was not until the 1760s and the emergence of Katsukawa Shunshō that actors began to be portrayed in such a way that the individual actors could be identified across different prints depicting different roles. Shunshō focused on facial features and idiosyncrasies of the individual actors.\n\nThis drastic change in style was emulated by Shunshō's students of the Katsukawa school, and by many other ukiyo-e artists of the period. The realistic, individualized style replaced that of the Torii school's idealistic, dramatic, but ultimately generalized style which had dominated for seventy years.\n\nSharaku is one of the most famous and influential yakusha-e printers along with Kiyonobu; working roughly a century after Kiyonobu, the two are often said to represent the beginnings and peak of kabuki depictions in prints. Sharaku's works are very bold and energetic, and demonstrate an unmistakably unique style. His portraits are easily among the most individualized and distinctive portrayals in all of ukiyo-e. However, his personal style was not emulated by other artists, and can be seen only in the works created by Sharaku himself, during the incredibly short period in which he produced prints, between 1794 and 1795.\n\nMeanwhile, Utagawa Toyokuni emerged almost simultaneously with Sharaku. His most well-known actor prints were published in 1794–1796, in a collection called Yakusha butai no sugata-e (役者舞台の姿絵, \"Views of Actors on Stage\"). Though his works lack the unique energy of Sharaku's, he is considered one of the greatest artists in \"large-head\" portraits, and in ukiyo-e in general for his depictions of other subjects and in other formats. Though the figure print began to enter serious decline around the turn of the 19th century, headshot portraits continued to be produced. Artists of the Utagawa school, emulating Toyokuni's style, created highly characterized depictions of artists that, while not particularly realistic, were nevertheless highly individualized. The characters and, perhaps, actual appearances of a great number of individual actors, who would otherwise be known only by their names, are thus known to modern scholarship.\n\nA Later Development\n\nThe sentiments of the above paragraph notwithstanding, there appeared a 開花年齢 [A Flowering Age] of 役者絵 (c.1860-75), when actors’ names could again be printed alongside their image, even if any scenic background was added by other artists (which was normally acknowledged), and, more importantly, date identifications were ascribed by means of singe Censor Seal. There prints, of Kabuki virtuosi, were abundant, numbering more than the usual press runs, they included images of, for example: young 一 代目河原崎権十郎 [Kawarazaki Gonjuro I ]; the newly renamed 四代目中村芝 [Nakamura Shikan IV]; the aging 四代目市川小團 次 [Ichikawa Kodanji IV]; and the 15-year-old, virtuoso 女形 [onnagata; ladies’ roles] 三代目 沢村田之助 [Sawamara Tanosuke III]. This blossoming of 役者絵—they truly are portraits, not merely good caricatures—advertised plays in the season; new presentations of any said play, which could number many in a season, replete with new costumes (contemporary reports claimed that costumes only lasted some weeks in performance), or were presented gratis as souvenirs of any presentation. All were eagerly awaited by an insatiably acquisitive, theater-going public. See the description of the print here by clicking on the image.\n\nSee also\nBijin-ga – Ukiyo-e depictions of beautiful women\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n Lane, Richard. (1978). Images from the Floating World, The Japanese Print. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ; OCLC 5246796\n\nExternal links\nYakusha-e at Kabuki21.com\n\nUkiyo-e genres\nKabuki"
]
|
[
"A. J. Quartermaine",
"Casting",
"Who played Quartermaine?",
"The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983.",
"Who was cast in 1983?",
"I don't know.",
"What other actors played this role?",
"Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in",
"Were there any other actors?",
"actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997."
]
| C_d7f3ec115a254822a045a747bebb49c3_1 | Were there any controversies with the casting? | 5 | Were there any controversies with actor Billy Warlock in the casting? | A. J. Quartermaine | The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994. Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline. In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off. On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guide's Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J. CANNOTANSWER | In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. | A.J. Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Born on-screen in 1979 as the only biological child of the iconic Drs. Alan and Monica Quartermaine, A.J. was "SORASed" in 1991, revising his birth year to 1972. The role has been most notably portrayed by the actors Sean Kanan from 1993 to 1997 and Billy Warlock from 1997 to 2003, with a brief return in 2005. Kanan made his on-screen return as A.J. on October 26, 2012, after a 15-year absence. Kanan announced in March 2014 that he would once again be leaving the series, voicing his disappointment over the writing for the character.
Casting
The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary portrayed A.J. April 16, 1983 continuing the part through Spring 1987. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1987–1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 – 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994.
Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline.
In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off.
On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guides Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J.
Storylines
1979–1990
Alan James Quartermaine Jr. was introduced in December 1979, during a severe snow storm. At the time, his mother, Monica (Leslie Charleson) is on bed rest when is visited by co-worker, Dr. Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander) and her foster mother, Dr. Gail Baldwin (Susan Brown). The three women end up stranded when Monica goes into labor. As Lesley helps deliver the child, a delirious Monica admits that the infant is actually the son of Lesley's husband, Dr. Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Monica's husband, Alan (Stuart Damon) unaware of the affair must deal with his evil sister Tracy (Jane Elliot) planting seeds of doubt about Alan Jr.'s paternity. In early 1980, it is discovered that Alan Jr. has a heart condition and Rick comes back to Port Charles to perform the surgery. Rick soon confronts Alan, who is already aware of Alan Jr's paternity and claims the infant. However, Monica later discovers that Alan Jr. carries a birthmark identical to Alan's and a DNA test later confirms that the child is Alan's son. In 1981, Alan has an affair and had an illegitimate son, Jason with Susan Moore (Gail Ramsay). Monica and Alan separate when he moves in with Susan, and Monica files for sole custody of Alan Jr. However, they soon reconcile and Susan sues the Quartermaines for Jason's inheritance. After Susan's murder, Monica adopts Jason as her own. In 1987, signs of trouble erupt when Alan Jr. (feeling neglected by his troubled and busy parents) runs away and turns up at Kelly's diner. Knowing that his parents would be worried, Ruby notified Alan and Monica of his whereabouts. Alan Jr. and Jason are seen again when Monica, running for assistant chief of staff, has a picture taken with them to improve her public image. In 1988, Alan Jr., now known as A.J., is sent off to boarding school although he is home for a visit when his aunt Tracy returns to town.
A.J. graduates from boarding school in June 1991, which re-establishes his birth year as 1973. In early 1993, A.J. is aged again, re-establishing his birth year as 1969. In 1998, his birthday is celebrated on November 18.
1991–1999
Alan Jr., now going by the name A.J., leaves school, and ends up in jail for drunk driving. A.J. blames his troubled childhood while his grandmother, Lila (Anna Lee) promises to give him and his cousin, Ned (Wally Kurth) their inheritance if they can stay out of trouble for six months. Meanwhile, his parents remarry and his little brother, Jason returns home from boarding school. A.J. takes pleasure in reminding Jason that he is illegitimate. Meanwhile, Nikki Langton comes to town looking for revenge against Monica for her father, David's death. When her malpractice suit against Monica fails, she begins dating A.J. Nikki soon tricks A.J. into proposing marriage so she can get her hands on the Quartermaine fortune. In November 1992, A.J. is devastated when Nikki leaves him at the altar after Alan pays her to leave town. A.J. turns to alcohol to numb the pain.
After learning about his father's schemes, A.J. tracks Nikki to Malibu and attempts to win her back, but she has already married another man. A.J. begins drinking even more. In 1993, A.J. has an affair with Ned's former lover, Julia Barrett before she leaves town. Meanwhile, Alan becomes infatuated with Rhonda Wexler, much to Monica's dismay. After Rhonda is beaten up by her ex-boyfriend, Ray Conway, and Alan threatens him, Ray is discovered dead. A.J. finds Alan's cufflink at the scene and Alan confesses to the crime. A.J. frames Jagger Cates (Antonio Sabàto Jr.) for the murder to protect his father. In 1995, Alan and Monica adopt the orphaned Emily Bowen. In 1996, A.J. gets into a drunken car accident with Jason in the passenger seat and Jason suffers severe brain damage. Ned covers for A.J. and his guilt begins eating away at him. After waking up from a coma, Jason with no recollection of his past walks away from the family.
In March 1997, A.J. has a drunken one-night stand with the scheming Carly Roberts (Sarah Joy Brown). Fortunately, for Carly, A.J. has no recollection of escapade. Soon Carly announces she is pregnant and reunites with Tony Jones (Brad Maule). Carly fearing that A.J. would eventually remember the night the child was conceived drugs A.J. leading everyone to believe he had fallen of the wagon once again. However, Carly's plan backfires and A.J. stays in town. After being hypnotized, A.J. remembers his night with Carly, and confronts her. He promises to hide it from Tony, but demands a DNA test when the baby is born. Meanwhile, the Quartermaines are shocked when it comes out during Monica's sexual harassment trial that she and Ned had an affair years before, and several of the Quartermaines fell off the wagon, including A.J. His drinking grew worse, and he eventually admitted to being behind the wheel the night of the car accident. A.J. also becomes infatuated with Jason's ex-girlfriend, Keesha Ward but she rejects him.
Carly welcomes her son Michael in December 1997 and fears Tony and A.J. may learn the truth and try to take the boy away from her. Carly lies and claims Jason (Steve Burton) as the baby's father while she leaves town to recover from Postpartum. In 1998, A.J. meets his son when Jason's girlfriend, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), asks him to babysit. A.J. decides to patch things up with Carly to please his grandfather, Edward (John Ingle), who is adamant about keeping the Quartermaine's together under one roof. A.J. eventually wins Carly over and they marry on May 26, 1999, at the Quartermaine mansion, much to the dismay of both Alan and Monica. A.J. has difficulty bonding with Michael who has become attached to Jason. A.J. always suspects Carly of having an affair with Jason and when Carly announces she is pregnant, he assumes Jason is the father.
2000–2003, 2005
A.J. agrees to pass the child off as his own, to get revenge on Jason for hiding Michael's paternity. A.J. is furious when he learns that Carly's child is actually fathered by Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Sonny comes to claim the unborn child. In May 2000, Carly and A.J. get into an argument and she ends up falling down a flight of stairs, causing a miscarriage. A.J. is later disinherited by his family and forced to move out of the mansion. Meanwhile, Sonny and Carly schemed to gain custody of young Michael. Sonny kidnaps A.J. and threatens him into signing over his parental rights to Michael; Sonny later adopts Michael. A.J. became even more self-destructive and destroyed his relationship with Hannah Scott when nearly died from alcohol poisoning. When Monica has a health scare, A.J. decides to move back into the mansion and reconciles with his family. A.J. also bonds with his long lost sister, Skye Quartermaine (Robin Christopher) who also battled with alcoholism. Together, they planned to bring Michael back into the Quartermaine fold. In January 2002, A.J. begins pursuing Sonny's little sister, Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) in an effort to drive Sonny crazy and get Michael back.
In April 2002, A.J. marries Courtney and Sonny nearly kills him. A.J. offers to give Courtney a divorce if he gave Michael back but Sonny refuses the offer. A.J. eventually falls for Courtney and gave up his family for her. Sonny instructs Jason to watch over Courtney and A.J. is jealous of their budding relationship. He turns to alcohol and crashes his car through the Oasis strip club. Courtney becomes a stripper at the club to pay off his debt. A.J. burns down the club and Courtney convinces Jason to cover for him. Wanting Courtney to depend on him instead of Jason, A.J. hires the former owner of the Oasis, Coleman Ratcliffe (Blake Gibbons) to terrorize Courtney; however the plan backfires when Courtney learns the truth. Courtney wants to end the marriage and A.J. swears revenge on Jason. He teams up with Skye to frame Jason and Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) for the murder of Luis Alcazar (Ted King). A.J. gets his chance to run ELQ when he becomes CEO after Ned is falsely accused of rape. However, A.J.'s efforts to redeem himself came up short and he became involved with Lydia Karenin. The couple left town together after A.J. emptied his entire family's bank accounts.
A.J. returns in February 2005 to reveal that he and Courtney are still legally married when she announces her engagement to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). A.J. also kidnaps Sonny's kids including Michael; he fakes Michael's death and attempts to leave the country with the boy. Instead, A.J. returned to the Quartermaine mansion and Alan attempts to help his son. Jason finally comes to the rescues and A.J. ends up shooting Alan during a confrontation with Jason. A.J. ends up in the hospital with a broken back, and he is apparently murdered by Dr. Asher Thomas on April 26, 2005. Years earlier, A.J. hired Dr. Thomas to kill Jason and Alan had been using the information to blackmail him. Michael is initially one of the suspects but his name is cleared after the truth is discovered.
2012–2014
A.J. resurfaces alive in October 2012, appearing at the Quartermaine Estate to console Monica after Jason's death. It is revealed that after being murdered, A.J. was revived by Monica and Steven Webber, who then smuggled him out of the hospital to a rehab facility overseas, while everyone was led to think he had died. After being warned by Monica not to leave the estate, due to the pending charges still against him, he leaves and makes contact with Michael (Chad Duell), wanting to be the father to him that he should have always been. Michael makes his intentions known that he wants nothing to do with A.J.; however, after Carly (Laura Wright) confesses the truth about her relationship with A.J., he begins to open up to the idea of hearing him out. Carly begins to believe A.J. is alive after seeing him briefly on the docks. When she goes to ask Monica about A.J., she catches A.J. and Michael together. Despite Michael's protesting, Carly calls Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), who arrests A.J. on the charges against him. Monica arranges for house arrest for A.J. by putting the mansion up as collateral. Tracy convinces A.J. that Michael is in trouble, making him cut off his ankle monitor to help him. When he finds Michael, A.J. meets Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco), Jason's widow, and their son, A.J.'s nephew, Daniel. Thanks to Tracy's schemes, A.J. is arrested again but he is released on bail thanks to his lawyer, Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy) convincing the judge of Tracy's treachery. On November 20, A.J. is devastated when Edward passes away before he gets a chance to see him again. He reconnects with his sister Skye and meets his niece Lila Rae Alcazar, when they return for Edward's funeral. As of December 2012, Diane successfully gets all the charges against A.J. dropped in exchange for A.J. proving information on criminal, Cesar Faison (Anders Hove).
AJ battles for an extended period in 2013 for control of the Quartermaine business, ELQ, with Tracy Quartermaine after Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) ordered Robin Scorpio-Drake to revive his henchman Franco and make him Jerry's look-alike to poison Pickle Lila and Pickle Eddie before the starting of The Chew. After the reveal that Kiki Jerome (Kristen Alderson) is not a Quartermaine, Tracy reclaims the CEO position. A.J. is accused of murdering Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) when he has a drunken night and the letters AJ is written in blood. Sonny arrives at the Quartermaine mansion with a gun prepared to murder A.J. in retribution, but Michael manages to talk his stepfather down, warning him that if Sonny were to kill A.J. it would mean he's lost both his fathers, as Michael would never forgive him. Sonny leaves, and A.J. is arrested – though he continues to have no memory of committing the crime.
A.J. finally gets his day in court during the November sweeps with Michael and Kiki at his side. He is later acquitted of the crime, as "there was just not enough evidence to convict an innocent man". A.J., torn by the verdict because he feels guilty, continues to drink excessively. Through his drinking, A.J. begins to have flashbacks about the night of the murder. In one of these, he remembers that Ava was there on the night of Connie's murder. When he confronts her, Ava retains her innocence. However, in February 2014, A.J., after seeing Connie in illusions and having survived a botched assassination, begins to become more confident that Ava murdered Connie. In March 2014, after confronting Ava about killing Connie, Sonny walks in and shoots A.J. Julian is mistakenly found over A.J's body when police officers Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) arrive to Ava's apartment. A.J. falls into a coma, waking up twice, to tell Michael that Julian Jerome (William deVry) didn't shoot him, and the second time to tell Carly that Sonny shot him. A.J. dies after begging Carly to stay and telling her Sonny shot him, not giving her enough time to get to a nurse. His spirit haunts Sonny and is then ushered into heaven by Emily where he is greeted by his grandparents, Lila and Edward.
References
External links
Soap Central profile
General Hospital characters
Fictional criminals in soap operas
Fictional socialites
Fictional alcohol abusers
Fictional murdered people | true | [
"A Fazenda 1 (formerly known as A Fazenda) was the first season of the Brazilian reality television series A Fazenda which premiered May 31, 2009 with the finale airing on August 23, 2009 on the RecordTV. The show was presented by news reporter Britto Júnior along with actress Chris Couto and directed by Rodrigo Carelli.\n\nThe winner was 28-year-old actor Dado Dolabella from Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro who defeated singer Danni Carlos with 83% of the votes.\n\nProduction\n\nCast\nThere were fourteen celebrity contestants competing for the grand prize, which was R$1,000,000 without tax allowances. The season lasted 85 days, making this the shortest season until A Fazenda 8.\n\nContestants\nBelow is biographical information according to the Record official site, plus footnoted additions.(ages stated are correct at the start of the contest)\n\nFuture appearances\nIn 2011, Franciely Freduzeski was contender to be a competitor on A Fazenda 4, but ultimately did not return.\n\nIn 2017, Théo Becker appeared in Dancing Brasil 2, he finished in 9th place.\n\nIn 2017, Fábio Arruda returned to compete in A Fazenda 9, he finished in 14th place in the competition.\n\nVoting history\n\nNotes\n : The first Farmer of the Week (Dado) was chosen by the public through an online vote.\n : Bárbara and Franciely were tied with 4 votes each. First nominee Luciele, the first nominee, had the casting vote and chose to nominate Franciely.\n : Luciele and Miro were tied with 3 votes each. First nominee Danni had the casting vote and chose to nominate Miro.\n : Luciele and Mirella were tied with 2 votes each. First nominee Carlinhos had the casting vote and chose to nominate Luciele.\n : Danni and Fabiana were tied with 2 votes each. First nominee Jonathan had the casting vote and chose to nominate Danni.\n : Dado and Fabiana were tied with 2 votes each. First nominee Danni had the casting vote and chose to nominate Fabiana.\n : Carlinhos and Dado were tied with 2 votes each. First nominee Danielle had the casting vote and chose to nominate Dado.\n : Carlinhos won the final challenge and won immunity. Therefore, Dado, Danni and Pedro were automatically nominated.\n : The final three contestants were automatically nominated for the final eviction.\n : For the final, the public votes for the contestant they want to win A Fazenda 1.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official Site \n\nA Fazenda\n2009 Brazilian television seasons",
"Rapid casting is an integration of conventional casting with rapid prototyping/3D printing. In this technique disposable pattern used for forming mold are created with 3d printing techniques like fused deposition, stereo lithography or any other 3d printing technique.\n\nOne of the items that is a subset of fast casting is rapid metal casting.[1] \nLet us first explain this:\n\nPressure die casting & investment casting is not typically considered a rapid prototyping process. It requires costly equipment and a high level of expertise, and is generally suited to large quantities of metal parts. It is, in many ways, the metal equivalent of injection molding, another process favored for mass production over short-run or prototyping.\n\nThat being said, 3ERP is not your typical rapid prototyping company. Over the years, we noticed an appetite amongst our customers for low-volume pressure die casting, so we established partnerships with a handful of casting companies in order to offer professional casting services — even in very low volumes. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.\n\nThe transformation of die casting into a metal rapid prototyping process is a game changer for product designers, who can now order cast metal parts as easily as machined parts. This article discusses some of the main advantages and possible applications of rapid metal casting, the only rapid prototyping solution for metal casting.\n\nWhy choose rapid metal casting? \nWhen making a prototype with rapid metal casting, a product designer can benefit from two unique sets of advantages.\n\nThe first set of advantages concerns the metal casting process itself. As an example, pressure die casting is a manufacturing process that uses a mold cavity to create parts from molten metal. It is generally a very expensive process, because specialist equipment is required. However, its benefits are significant.\n\nOne of the advantages of pressure die casting is its economy of scale. Unlike CNC machining, die casting is most cost-effective when ordering in large volumes. That’s because a mold cavity can be used many times to create many units of a part, with the cost-per-unit gradually decreasing as the order size increases. This is one of the characteristics it shares with injection molding, which also has high startup costs but a low subsequent cost per unit.\n\nAnother advantage of pressure die casting is its ability to fabricate very large metal parts such as automobile engine blocks, camera chassis and floodlight housings that would be difficult to machine from a metal blank. The process also produces an excellent surface finish, dimensional accuracy and tensile strength.\n\nAdvantages of pressure die casting:\n\n Cheap at scale\n Large parts\n Good surface finish\n High dimensional accuracy\n High tensile strength\n\nThe second set of advantages concerns the rapid prototyping aspect of rapid metal casting. Customers using our rapid metal casting services not only reap the rewards of the die casting process, but can also get their parts made at a speed, volume and price point usually associated with low-cost prototyping processes.\n\nA major advantage of rapid metal casting is how it gives product designers a final-stage prototype that may be near-identical to the finished part. Since die casting is a professional process used for end-use parts, rapid metal casting is one of the most representative prototyping services available for such parts. It is prototyping convenience coupled with end-use quality.\n\nSimilarly, rapid metal casting gives engineers the ability to mechanically test prototypes of soon-to-be cast products in a more accurate manner. A rapid cast engine block prototype, for example, can be put through its paces in the factory, giving an accurate picture of how the final cast part will perform.\n\nCombining die casting with rapid prototyping also allows businesses to benefit from other aspects of rapid prototyping. First, there’s the speed and convenience. And with 3ERP, your cast metal prototypes can be expertly finished with our CNC machining centers, adding details, engraving or other features.\n\nAdvantages\n\n Easier to make pattern.\n Reduced time of manufacturing.\n Possibility to make the pattern lighter by removing unwanted material and stiffer by adding rib features.\nAvailable in small quantities (50+)\nFast turnaround\nProfessional process\nRepresentative prototypes\nCombine with CNC or surface finishing procedures\n\nApplications of rapid metal casting \nRapid metal casting can be used to create prototypes and short-run parts in several industries. Some of the most common applications of rapid metal casting include:\n\nAutomotive \nDie casting is regularly used to create metal parts for automobiles, and rapid metal casting allows automotive companies to obtain and test prototypes for new vehicles.\n\nCast metal automotive parts include:\n\n Engine blocks\n Cooling fans\n Fuel caps\n Truck/bus air valves\n Gear shifters\n Headlamp head sinks\n Gear boxes\n Pedals\n\nMedical \nThe superior strength and surface finish of die casting makes the process suitable for several medical and healthcare products, which can be fabricated in small quantities with rapid metal casting.\n\nCast metal medical parts include:\n\n Pacemakers\n Hospital bed parts\n Stethoscope housings\n Monitors\n Dialysis equipment parts\n Oxygen pumps\n\nElectronics \nMass-produced parts for consumer electronics are frequently made with the die casting process, and rapid metal casting is an effective way to prototype electronic parts or create short-run orders of specialist electronic products.\n\nCast metal electronics parts include:\n\n Tablet housings\n Printer couplings\n Headphone housings\n Smart watch clasps\n Camera chassis\n\nProcedure \n A disposable pattern is made with RP (that can be of wax or any other plastic used in 3d printing)\n The pattern if made of wax, undergoes wax infiltrations and other procedures to increase its strength and dewaxing properties .\n A mold is made with the printed pattern.\n Evacuation of the pattern from the mold followed by regular casting procedure.\n\n3ِD printing as a method of rapid casting \n\nTraditionally, 3D printing focused on polymers for printing, due to the ease of manufacturing and handling polymeric materials. However, the method has rapidly evolved to not only print various polymers [2] but also metals [3][4] and ceramics [5], making 3D printing a versatile option for manufacturing. Layer-by-layer fabrication of three-dimensional physical models is a modern concept that \"stems from the ever-growing CAD industry, more specifically the solid modeling side of CAD. Before solid modeling was introduced in the late 1980s, three-dimensional models were created with wire frames and surfaces.[6]\" but in all cases the layers of materials are controlled by the printer and the material properties. The three-dimensional material layer is controlled by deposition rate as set by the printer operator and stored in a computer file. The earliest printed patented material was a Hot melt type ink for printing patterns using a heated metal alloy.\n\nReferences \n\n Ronan Ye – Rapid Prototyping & Rapid Manufacturing Expert , Specialize in CNC machining, 3D printing, urethane casting, rapid tooling, injection molding, metal casting, sheet metal and extrusion\n Wang, Xin; Jiang, Man; Zhou, Zuowan; Gou, Jihua; Hui, David (2017). \"3D printing of polymer matrix composites: A review and prospective\". Composites Part B: Engineering. 110: 442–458. doi:10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.11.034\n Rose, L. (2011). On the degradation of porous stainless steel. University of British Columbia. pp. 104–143. doi:10.14288/1.0071732\n Zadi-Maad, Ahmad; Rohbib, Rohbib; Irawan, A (2018). \"Additive manufacturing for steels: a review\". IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 285 (1): 012028. Bibcode:2018MS&E..285a2028Z. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/285/1/012028\n Galante, Raquel; G. Figueiredo-Pina, Celio; Serro, Ana Paula (2019). \"Additive manufacturing of ceramics for dental applications\". Dental Materials. 35 (6): 825–846. doi:10.1016/j.dental.2019.02.026. PMID 30948230.\n Cooper, Kenneth G., 1973- (2001). Rapid prototyping technology : selection and application. New York: Marcel Dekker. pp. 39–41. . OCLC 45873626\n\n \nProduct design\nIndustrial processes\n3D printing processes\nComputer-aided manufacturing\nPrototypes\nDigital manufacturing"
]
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[
"A. J. Quartermaine",
"Casting",
"Who played Quartermaine?",
"The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983.",
"Who was cast in 1983?",
"I don't know.",
"What other actors played this role?",
"Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in",
"Were there any other actors?",
"actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997.",
"Were there any controversies with the casting?",
"In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes."
]
| C_d7f3ec115a254822a045a747bebb49c3_1 | Did those get resolved? | 6 | Did the controversies with actor Billy Warlock's return as A.J. briefly put on hold in the casting get resolved? | A. J. Quartermaine | The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994. Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline. In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off. On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guide's Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J. CANNOTANSWER | Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives | A.J. Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Born on-screen in 1979 as the only biological child of the iconic Drs. Alan and Monica Quartermaine, A.J. was "SORASed" in 1991, revising his birth year to 1972. The role has been most notably portrayed by the actors Sean Kanan from 1993 to 1997 and Billy Warlock from 1997 to 2003, with a brief return in 2005. Kanan made his on-screen return as A.J. on October 26, 2012, after a 15-year absence. Kanan announced in March 2014 that he would once again be leaving the series, voicing his disappointment over the writing for the character.
Casting
The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary portrayed A.J. April 16, 1983 continuing the part through Spring 1987. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1987–1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 – 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994.
Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline.
In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off.
On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guides Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J.
Storylines
1979–1990
Alan James Quartermaine Jr. was introduced in December 1979, during a severe snow storm. At the time, his mother, Monica (Leslie Charleson) is on bed rest when is visited by co-worker, Dr. Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander) and her foster mother, Dr. Gail Baldwin (Susan Brown). The three women end up stranded when Monica goes into labor. As Lesley helps deliver the child, a delirious Monica admits that the infant is actually the son of Lesley's husband, Dr. Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Monica's husband, Alan (Stuart Damon) unaware of the affair must deal with his evil sister Tracy (Jane Elliot) planting seeds of doubt about Alan Jr.'s paternity. In early 1980, it is discovered that Alan Jr. has a heart condition and Rick comes back to Port Charles to perform the surgery. Rick soon confronts Alan, who is already aware of Alan Jr's paternity and claims the infant. However, Monica later discovers that Alan Jr. carries a birthmark identical to Alan's and a DNA test later confirms that the child is Alan's son. In 1981, Alan has an affair and had an illegitimate son, Jason with Susan Moore (Gail Ramsay). Monica and Alan separate when he moves in with Susan, and Monica files for sole custody of Alan Jr. However, they soon reconcile and Susan sues the Quartermaines for Jason's inheritance. After Susan's murder, Monica adopts Jason as her own. In 1987, signs of trouble erupt when Alan Jr. (feeling neglected by his troubled and busy parents) runs away and turns up at Kelly's diner. Knowing that his parents would be worried, Ruby notified Alan and Monica of his whereabouts. Alan Jr. and Jason are seen again when Monica, running for assistant chief of staff, has a picture taken with them to improve her public image. In 1988, Alan Jr., now known as A.J., is sent off to boarding school although he is home for a visit when his aunt Tracy returns to town.
A.J. graduates from boarding school in June 1991, which re-establishes his birth year as 1973. In early 1993, A.J. is aged again, re-establishing his birth year as 1969. In 1998, his birthday is celebrated on November 18.
1991–1999
Alan Jr., now going by the name A.J., leaves school, and ends up in jail for drunk driving. A.J. blames his troubled childhood while his grandmother, Lila (Anna Lee) promises to give him and his cousin, Ned (Wally Kurth) their inheritance if they can stay out of trouble for six months. Meanwhile, his parents remarry and his little brother, Jason returns home from boarding school. A.J. takes pleasure in reminding Jason that he is illegitimate. Meanwhile, Nikki Langton comes to town looking for revenge against Monica for her father, David's death. When her malpractice suit against Monica fails, she begins dating A.J. Nikki soon tricks A.J. into proposing marriage so she can get her hands on the Quartermaine fortune. In November 1992, A.J. is devastated when Nikki leaves him at the altar after Alan pays her to leave town. A.J. turns to alcohol to numb the pain.
After learning about his father's schemes, A.J. tracks Nikki to Malibu and attempts to win her back, but she has already married another man. A.J. begins drinking even more. In 1993, A.J. has an affair with Ned's former lover, Julia Barrett before she leaves town. Meanwhile, Alan becomes infatuated with Rhonda Wexler, much to Monica's dismay. After Rhonda is beaten up by her ex-boyfriend, Ray Conway, and Alan threatens him, Ray is discovered dead. A.J. finds Alan's cufflink at the scene and Alan confesses to the crime. A.J. frames Jagger Cates (Antonio Sabàto Jr.) for the murder to protect his father. In 1995, Alan and Monica adopt the orphaned Emily Bowen. In 1996, A.J. gets into a drunken car accident with Jason in the passenger seat and Jason suffers severe brain damage. Ned covers for A.J. and his guilt begins eating away at him. After waking up from a coma, Jason with no recollection of his past walks away from the family.
In March 1997, A.J. has a drunken one-night stand with the scheming Carly Roberts (Sarah Joy Brown). Fortunately, for Carly, A.J. has no recollection of escapade. Soon Carly announces she is pregnant and reunites with Tony Jones (Brad Maule). Carly fearing that A.J. would eventually remember the night the child was conceived drugs A.J. leading everyone to believe he had fallen of the wagon once again. However, Carly's plan backfires and A.J. stays in town. After being hypnotized, A.J. remembers his night with Carly, and confronts her. He promises to hide it from Tony, but demands a DNA test when the baby is born. Meanwhile, the Quartermaines are shocked when it comes out during Monica's sexual harassment trial that she and Ned had an affair years before, and several of the Quartermaines fell off the wagon, including A.J. His drinking grew worse, and he eventually admitted to being behind the wheel the night of the car accident. A.J. also becomes infatuated with Jason's ex-girlfriend, Keesha Ward but she rejects him.
Carly welcomes her son Michael in December 1997 and fears Tony and A.J. may learn the truth and try to take the boy away from her. Carly lies and claims Jason (Steve Burton) as the baby's father while she leaves town to recover from Postpartum. In 1998, A.J. meets his son when Jason's girlfriend, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), asks him to babysit. A.J. decides to patch things up with Carly to please his grandfather, Edward (John Ingle), who is adamant about keeping the Quartermaine's together under one roof. A.J. eventually wins Carly over and they marry on May 26, 1999, at the Quartermaine mansion, much to the dismay of both Alan and Monica. A.J. has difficulty bonding with Michael who has become attached to Jason. A.J. always suspects Carly of having an affair with Jason and when Carly announces she is pregnant, he assumes Jason is the father.
2000–2003, 2005
A.J. agrees to pass the child off as his own, to get revenge on Jason for hiding Michael's paternity. A.J. is furious when he learns that Carly's child is actually fathered by Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Sonny comes to claim the unborn child. In May 2000, Carly and A.J. get into an argument and she ends up falling down a flight of stairs, causing a miscarriage. A.J. is later disinherited by his family and forced to move out of the mansion. Meanwhile, Sonny and Carly schemed to gain custody of young Michael. Sonny kidnaps A.J. and threatens him into signing over his parental rights to Michael; Sonny later adopts Michael. A.J. became even more self-destructive and destroyed his relationship with Hannah Scott when nearly died from alcohol poisoning. When Monica has a health scare, A.J. decides to move back into the mansion and reconciles with his family. A.J. also bonds with his long lost sister, Skye Quartermaine (Robin Christopher) who also battled with alcoholism. Together, they planned to bring Michael back into the Quartermaine fold. In January 2002, A.J. begins pursuing Sonny's little sister, Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) in an effort to drive Sonny crazy and get Michael back.
In April 2002, A.J. marries Courtney and Sonny nearly kills him. A.J. offers to give Courtney a divorce if he gave Michael back but Sonny refuses the offer. A.J. eventually falls for Courtney and gave up his family for her. Sonny instructs Jason to watch over Courtney and A.J. is jealous of their budding relationship. He turns to alcohol and crashes his car through the Oasis strip club. Courtney becomes a stripper at the club to pay off his debt. A.J. burns down the club and Courtney convinces Jason to cover for him. Wanting Courtney to depend on him instead of Jason, A.J. hires the former owner of the Oasis, Coleman Ratcliffe (Blake Gibbons) to terrorize Courtney; however the plan backfires when Courtney learns the truth. Courtney wants to end the marriage and A.J. swears revenge on Jason. He teams up with Skye to frame Jason and Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) for the murder of Luis Alcazar (Ted King). A.J. gets his chance to run ELQ when he becomes CEO after Ned is falsely accused of rape. However, A.J.'s efforts to redeem himself came up short and he became involved with Lydia Karenin. The couple left town together after A.J. emptied his entire family's bank accounts.
A.J. returns in February 2005 to reveal that he and Courtney are still legally married when she announces her engagement to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). A.J. also kidnaps Sonny's kids including Michael; he fakes Michael's death and attempts to leave the country with the boy. Instead, A.J. returned to the Quartermaine mansion and Alan attempts to help his son. Jason finally comes to the rescues and A.J. ends up shooting Alan during a confrontation with Jason. A.J. ends up in the hospital with a broken back, and he is apparently murdered by Dr. Asher Thomas on April 26, 2005. Years earlier, A.J. hired Dr. Thomas to kill Jason and Alan had been using the information to blackmail him. Michael is initially one of the suspects but his name is cleared after the truth is discovered.
2012–2014
A.J. resurfaces alive in October 2012, appearing at the Quartermaine Estate to console Monica after Jason's death. It is revealed that after being murdered, A.J. was revived by Monica and Steven Webber, who then smuggled him out of the hospital to a rehab facility overseas, while everyone was led to think he had died. After being warned by Monica not to leave the estate, due to the pending charges still against him, he leaves and makes contact with Michael (Chad Duell), wanting to be the father to him that he should have always been. Michael makes his intentions known that he wants nothing to do with A.J.; however, after Carly (Laura Wright) confesses the truth about her relationship with A.J., he begins to open up to the idea of hearing him out. Carly begins to believe A.J. is alive after seeing him briefly on the docks. When she goes to ask Monica about A.J., she catches A.J. and Michael together. Despite Michael's protesting, Carly calls Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), who arrests A.J. on the charges against him. Monica arranges for house arrest for A.J. by putting the mansion up as collateral. Tracy convinces A.J. that Michael is in trouble, making him cut off his ankle monitor to help him. When he finds Michael, A.J. meets Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco), Jason's widow, and their son, A.J.'s nephew, Daniel. Thanks to Tracy's schemes, A.J. is arrested again but he is released on bail thanks to his lawyer, Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy) convincing the judge of Tracy's treachery. On November 20, A.J. is devastated when Edward passes away before he gets a chance to see him again. He reconnects with his sister Skye and meets his niece Lila Rae Alcazar, when they return for Edward's funeral. As of December 2012, Diane successfully gets all the charges against A.J. dropped in exchange for A.J. proving information on criminal, Cesar Faison (Anders Hove).
AJ battles for an extended period in 2013 for control of the Quartermaine business, ELQ, with Tracy Quartermaine after Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) ordered Robin Scorpio-Drake to revive his henchman Franco and make him Jerry's look-alike to poison Pickle Lila and Pickle Eddie before the starting of The Chew. After the reveal that Kiki Jerome (Kristen Alderson) is not a Quartermaine, Tracy reclaims the CEO position. A.J. is accused of murdering Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) when he has a drunken night and the letters AJ is written in blood. Sonny arrives at the Quartermaine mansion with a gun prepared to murder A.J. in retribution, but Michael manages to talk his stepfather down, warning him that if Sonny were to kill A.J. it would mean he's lost both his fathers, as Michael would never forgive him. Sonny leaves, and A.J. is arrested – though he continues to have no memory of committing the crime.
A.J. finally gets his day in court during the November sweeps with Michael and Kiki at his side. He is later acquitted of the crime, as "there was just not enough evidence to convict an innocent man". A.J., torn by the verdict because he feels guilty, continues to drink excessively. Through his drinking, A.J. begins to have flashbacks about the night of the murder. In one of these, he remembers that Ava was there on the night of Connie's murder. When he confronts her, Ava retains her innocence. However, in February 2014, A.J., after seeing Connie in illusions and having survived a botched assassination, begins to become more confident that Ava murdered Connie. In March 2014, after confronting Ava about killing Connie, Sonny walks in and shoots A.J. Julian is mistakenly found over A.J's body when police officers Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) arrive to Ava's apartment. A.J. falls into a coma, waking up twice, to tell Michael that Julian Jerome (William deVry) didn't shoot him, and the second time to tell Carly that Sonny shot him. A.J. dies after begging Carly to stay and telling her Sonny shot him, not giving her enough time to get to a nurse. His spirit haunts Sonny and is then ushered into heaven by Emily where he is greeted by his grandparents, Lila and Edward.
References
External links
Soap Central profile
General Hospital characters
Fictional criminals in soap operas
Fictional socialites
Fictional alcohol abusers
Fictional murdered people | true | [
"The National Educational Debate Association (NEDA) is an American collegiate debate association emphasizing audience-centered debate. It was founded by debate educators who believe that the debate tournament is an extension of the communication classroom and that even competitive debates should provide students with skills of research, argument selection, and presentation style that will benefit them as public advocates. NEDA schedules eight invitational tournaments a year, primarily in the mid-west. The association debates two resolutions per year. The fall resolution is one of value, and the spring resolution is one of policy. \n\nSeveral aspects of NEDA make it distinct from other debate organizations, including the ability to decide topicality at the end of the constructive speeches, the ability of judges to give \"double losses\" in those cases in which neither team argues in a manner consistent befitting a public advocate, closed cross examination, and a focus on argumentation and delivery. Also, half of all tournament judges are 'lay judges' - that is, they are not debate coaches. Membership in NEDA is awarded to individuals, not institutions, and all members must apply and be approved the governing body. The intended focus is on the clash over the issues central to the debate proposition. The debate is similar to Public Forum debate in that it is audience-friendly, but is more formal, and more evidence-based.\n\nHistory \n\nNEDA began in the fall of 1994 at the Central States Communication Association convention in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. About thirty debate educators and their institutions left the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) because they felt CEDA tournaments were no longer conducive to the audience-centered debate to which they were philosophically committed and desired to teach their students. The resulting organization was co-founded by Gary Horn, professor at Ferris State University, and Larry Underberg, then a professor at the University of South Dakota. There were quickly nineteen other founding members of the association. In 1999, the Western division of NEDA became the Great Plains Forensic Conference.\n\nDivisions\n\nTeams in NEDA compete in one of three categories:\n Novice - Standard cross-examination format of debate for competitors who have participated in six or fewer tournaments ever (including high school).\n Open - Standard cross-examination format debate for debaters who have competed at six or more tournaments.\n Crossfire Debate - Developed from Ted Turner style televised debates, this format is more interactive, involves more cross-examination, and emphasizes succinct arguments that get to the heart of the issues quickly.\n\nInstitutions With Current NEDA Members \nAnderson University (AU)\nBall State University (BSU)\nBob Jones University (BJU)\nCapital University (CAP)\nCedarville University (CUV)\nClemson University (CLEM)\nDePauw University (DEP)\nDuquesne University (DUQ)\nOwensboro Community & Technical College (OCTC)\nSaint Peter's University (SPU)\nSoutheast Missouri State University (SEMO)\nTransylvania University (TRA)\nUniversity of Dayton (DAY)\nFullerton College (FC)\nIndiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI)\nWayne State University (WSU)\n\nInstitutions that formerly sponsored NEDA teams \n\nBaptist Bible College, Missouri\nCarthage College\nCedarville University\nDePauw University\nEast Central University\nEastern New Mexico University\nFerris State University\nHillsdale College\nMetropolitan Community College\nMissouri Southern State University\nMurray State University\nNortheastern State University\nNorthern Oklahoma College\nPatrick Henry College\nRose Hulman Institute of Technology\nTiffin University\nUniversity of Oklahoma\nUniversity of South Dakota\nUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison\nUniversity of Wisconsin–La Crosse\nWestern Illinois University\nWheaton College, Illinois\n\nResolutions\n Spring 2019: Resolved: The United States should eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing\n Fall 2018: Resolved: Statehood for Puerto Rico would be beneficial.\nSpring 2018: Resolved: The United States Federal Government should provide citizens with free college tuition. \nSpring 2013: Resolved: The United States should significantly increase its humanitarian efforts across the world.\n Fall 2012: Resolved: Collegiate online instruction enhances college education.\n Spring 2012: Resolved: The United States should significantly increase programs to rehabilitate inmates.\n Fall 2011: Resolved: Political parties are bad for effective government in the United States.\n Spring 2011: Resolved: The United States Federal Government should legalize marijuana for recreational use.\n Fall 2010: Resolved: Increased use of nuclear power in the United States is beneficial.\n Spring 2010: Resolved: The United States should significantly reform The Welfare System.\n Fall 2009: Resolved: The United States is over-reliant on China.\n Spring 2009: Resolved: The United States federal government should significantly limit the authority of the Department of Homeland Security.\n Fall 2008: Resolved: Americans Overvalue Athletic Competition\n Spring 2008: Resolved: The United States federal government should make adequate and affordable medical care available to all U.S. citizens.\n Fall 2007: Resolved: Corporations exert undue influence over public policy.\n Spring 2007: Resolved: The United States Government should significantly increase the acceptance of immigrants.\n Fall 2006: Resolved: United States foreign policy inappropriately emphasizes military action over diplomacy.\n Spring 2006: Resolved: Non-violent crimes should not carry prison sentences. \n Fall 2005: Resolved: Wal-Mart's business practices are detrimental to the United States.\n Spring 2005: Resolved: The United States should substantially reform public secondary school education.\n Fall 2004: Resolved: Separation of church and state is being inappropriately eroded.\n Spring 2004: Resolved: The United States should significantly reduce its foreign military commitments.\n Fall 2003: Resolved: United States corporations are insufficiently loyal to American workers.\n Spring 2003: Resolved: The United States federal government should significantly increase its citizens' access to affordable health care.\n Fall 2002: Resolved: Civil liberties are being inappropriately eroded.\n Spring 2002: Resolved: The United States should substantially expand its efforts to prevent terrorism.\n Fall 2001: Resolved: A national missile defense system would be beneficial to the security of this nation.\n Spring 2001: Resolved: The United States should significantly decrease its dependence on foreign oil.\n Spring 2000: Resolved: The federal government should significantly increase the use of privately operated prisons.\n Fall 1998: Resolved: Corporate emphasis on profit is excessive.\n Spring 1998: Resolved: The United States should abolish the use of peer jurors.\n Spring 1997: Resolved: The Central Intelligence Agency should be eliminated.\n\nSee also \n List of NEDA tournament results\n\nExternal links \n National Educational Debate Association\n\nStudent debating societies",
"The thistle mistletoe formula is a pagan Norse Runic formula, involving several rhyming words ending in -istill (typically at least þistill and mistill; thistle and mistletoe). The formula is attested in around 15 variants from the Viking age.\n\nAttestations\n\nLedberg stone (Ög 181)\nThe Swedish Ledberg stone from Östergötland contains the formula. Following a standard memorial inscription, we read\nᚦᛘᚴ ᛬ ᛁᛁᛁ ᛬ ᛋᛋᛋ ᛬ ᛏᛏᛏ ᛬ ᛁᛁᛁ ᛬ ᛚᛚᛚ ᛬\nþmk : iii : sss : ttt : iii : lll :\n\nwhich when resolved becomes, in normalized Old Icelandic spelling:\n\nþistill, mistill, kistill;\n\nthistle, mistletoe and casket.\n\nGørlev stone (DR 239)\nLikewise, the Danish Gørlev stone contains the exact same formula, along with a younger futhark rune-row.\n\nSaga of Bósi\nThe formula reaches its climax in a riddle in the legendary Icelandic Saga of Bósi and Herraud, where it reads (from manuscript AM. 586 4:0, transliterated into the Latin alphabet):\nr.o.þ.k.m.u. iiiiii. ssssss. tttttt. iiiiii. llllll\n\nresolved and normalized, we get\nristill, aistill, þistill, kistill, mistill, vistill;\n\nplowshare, testicle, thistle, box/casket, and mistletoe. The meaning of the final word, uistil (vistill), is unclear.\n\nReferences\n\nHistorical runic magic"
]
|
[
"A. J. Quartermaine",
"Casting",
"Who played Quartermaine?",
"The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983.",
"Who was cast in 1983?",
"I don't know.",
"What other actors played this role?",
"Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in",
"Were there any other actors?",
"actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997.",
"Were there any controversies with the casting?",
"In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes.",
"Did those get resolved?",
"Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives"
]
| C_d7f3ec115a254822a045a747bebb49c3_1 | What else is notable about this character? | 7 | What else is notable about A. J. Quartermaine's character besides who played in Casting? | A. J. Quartermaine | The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary briefly stepped into the role in 1983. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1986-1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 - 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994. Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline. In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off. On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guide's Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | A.J. Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Born on-screen in 1979 as the only biological child of the iconic Drs. Alan and Monica Quartermaine, A.J. was "SORASed" in 1991, revising his birth year to 1972. The role has been most notably portrayed by the actors Sean Kanan from 1993 to 1997 and Billy Warlock from 1997 to 2003, with a brief return in 2005. Kanan made his on-screen return as A.J. on October 26, 2012, after a 15-year absence. Kanan announced in March 2014 that he would once again be leaving the series, voicing his disappointment over the writing for the character.
Casting
The newborn A.J. was portrayed by child actor Eric Kroh from 1979 to 1983. Abraham Geary portrayed A.J. April 16, 1983 continuing the part through Spring 1987. The role was also portrayed by Jason Marsden (1987–1988), Christopher Nelson (1988), Justin Whalin (April 1988 – 1989). On June 20, 1991, Gerald Hopkins stepped in the role of A.J. on contract and last appeared on December 30, 1992. The role was recast with Sean Kanan, who made his first appearance in the role on February 16, 1993. Kanan last appeared in the role on June 10, 1997. Kanan received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Newcomer for his portrayal of A.J. in 1994.
Following Kanan's departure, actor Billy Warlock was hired for the role of A.J., and he made his debut on June 13, 1997. In 2003, Warlock earned a pre-nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of A.J.. Warlock departed from the series in December 2003, amongst rumors that he was fired after disputes with show executives; the network replied his exit was due to lack of storyline.
In early 2005, the network's announcement of Warlock's return as A.J. was briefly put on hold, speculated as contract disputes. Warlock's return first aired on February 4, 2005, and shortly thereafter Warlock announced his return to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as Frankie Brady. Warlock's exit lead to rumors of Kanan's possible reprisal of the role, who had recently announced move to recurring status in his role as Deacon Sharpe in the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Warlock exited the series in April 2005 and the character was killed off.
On September 17, 2012, Kanan revealed in an interview with TV Guides Michael Logan that he was put on contract with General Hospital, but his character was not being announced. Rumors arose that Kanan might replace Steve Burton in the role of A.J.'s brother, Jason Morgan; the resemblance between the two fed into the rumors. Kanan first appeared on October 26, revealed to be A.J., retconing the character's death. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Kanan would once again be leaving the role of A.J.
Storylines
1979–1990
Alan James Quartermaine Jr. was introduced in December 1979, during a severe snow storm. At the time, his mother, Monica (Leslie Charleson) is on bed rest when is visited by co-worker, Dr. Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander) and her foster mother, Dr. Gail Baldwin (Susan Brown). The three women end up stranded when Monica goes into labor. As Lesley helps deliver the child, a delirious Monica admits that the infant is actually the son of Lesley's husband, Dr. Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Monica's husband, Alan (Stuart Damon) unaware of the affair must deal with his evil sister Tracy (Jane Elliot) planting seeds of doubt about Alan Jr.'s paternity. In early 1980, it is discovered that Alan Jr. has a heart condition and Rick comes back to Port Charles to perform the surgery. Rick soon confronts Alan, who is already aware of Alan Jr's paternity and claims the infant. However, Monica later discovers that Alan Jr. carries a birthmark identical to Alan's and a DNA test later confirms that the child is Alan's son. In 1981, Alan has an affair and had an illegitimate son, Jason with Susan Moore (Gail Ramsay). Monica and Alan separate when he moves in with Susan, and Monica files for sole custody of Alan Jr. However, they soon reconcile and Susan sues the Quartermaines for Jason's inheritance. After Susan's murder, Monica adopts Jason as her own. In 1987, signs of trouble erupt when Alan Jr. (feeling neglected by his troubled and busy parents) runs away and turns up at Kelly's diner. Knowing that his parents would be worried, Ruby notified Alan and Monica of his whereabouts. Alan Jr. and Jason are seen again when Monica, running for assistant chief of staff, has a picture taken with them to improve her public image. In 1988, Alan Jr., now known as A.J., is sent off to boarding school although he is home for a visit when his aunt Tracy returns to town.
A.J. graduates from boarding school in June 1991, which re-establishes his birth year as 1973. In early 1993, A.J. is aged again, re-establishing his birth year as 1969. In 1998, his birthday is celebrated on November 18.
1991–1999
Alan Jr., now going by the name A.J., leaves school, and ends up in jail for drunk driving. A.J. blames his troubled childhood while his grandmother, Lila (Anna Lee) promises to give him and his cousin, Ned (Wally Kurth) their inheritance if they can stay out of trouble for six months. Meanwhile, his parents remarry and his little brother, Jason returns home from boarding school. A.J. takes pleasure in reminding Jason that he is illegitimate. Meanwhile, Nikki Langton comes to town looking for revenge against Monica for her father, David's death. When her malpractice suit against Monica fails, she begins dating A.J. Nikki soon tricks A.J. into proposing marriage so she can get her hands on the Quartermaine fortune. In November 1992, A.J. is devastated when Nikki leaves him at the altar after Alan pays her to leave town. A.J. turns to alcohol to numb the pain.
After learning about his father's schemes, A.J. tracks Nikki to Malibu and attempts to win her back, but she has already married another man. A.J. begins drinking even more. In 1993, A.J. has an affair with Ned's former lover, Julia Barrett before she leaves town. Meanwhile, Alan becomes infatuated with Rhonda Wexler, much to Monica's dismay. After Rhonda is beaten up by her ex-boyfriend, Ray Conway, and Alan threatens him, Ray is discovered dead. A.J. finds Alan's cufflink at the scene and Alan confesses to the crime. A.J. frames Jagger Cates (Antonio Sabàto Jr.) for the murder to protect his father. In 1995, Alan and Monica adopt the orphaned Emily Bowen. In 1996, A.J. gets into a drunken car accident with Jason in the passenger seat and Jason suffers severe brain damage. Ned covers for A.J. and his guilt begins eating away at him. After waking up from a coma, Jason with no recollection of his past walks away from the family.
In March 1997, A.J. has a drunken one-night stand with the scheming Carly Roberts (Sarah Joy Brown). Fortunately, for Carly, A.J. has no recollection of escapade. Soon Carly announces she is pregnant and reunites with Tony Jones (Brad Maule). Carly fearing that A.J. would eventually remember the night the child was conceived drugs A.J. leading everyone to believe he had fallen of the wagon once again. However, Carly's plan backfires and A.J. stays in town. After being hypnotized, A.J. remembers his night with Carly, and confronts her. He promises to hide it from Tony, but demands a DNA test when the baby is born. Meanwhile, the Quartermaines are shocked when it comes out during Monica's sexual harassment trial that she and Ned had an affair years before, and several of the Quartermaines fell off the wagon, including A.J. His drinking grew worse, and he eventually admitted to being behind the wheel the night of the car accident. A.J. also becomes infatuated with Jason's ex-girlfriend, Keesha Ward but she rejects him.
Carly welcomes her son Michael in December 1997 and fears Tony and A.J. may learn the truth and try to take the boy away from her. Carly lies and claims Jason (Steve Burton) as the baby's father while she leaves town to recover from Postpartum. In 1998, A.J. meets his son when Jason's girlfriend, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), asks him to babysit. A.J. decides to patch things up with Carly to please his grandfather, Edward (John Ingle), who is adamant about keeping the Quartermaine's together under one roof. A.J. eventually wins Carly over and they marry on May 26, 1999, at the Quartermaine mansion, much to the dismay of both Alan and Monica. A.J. has difficulty bonding with Michael who has become attached to Jason. A.J. always suspects Carly of having an affair with Jason and when Carly announces she is pregnant, he assumes Jason is the father.
2000–2003, 2005
A.J. agrees to pass the child off as his own, to get revenge on Jason for hiding Michael's paternity. A.J. is furious when he learns that Carly's child is actually fathered by Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Sonny comes to claim the unborn child. In May 2000, Carly and A.J. get into an argument and she ends up falling down a flight of stairs, causing a miscarriage. A.J. is later disinherited by his family and forced to move out of the mansion. Meanwhile, Sonny and Carly schemed to gain custody of young Michael. Sonny kidnaps A.J. and threatens him into signing over his parental rights to Michael; Sonny later adopts Michael. A.J. became even more self-destructive and destroyed his relationship with Hannah Scott when nearly died from alcohol poisoning. When Monica has a health scare, A.J. decides to move back into the mansion and reconciles with his family. A.J. also bonds with his long lost sister, Skye Quartermaine (Robin Christopher) who also battled with alcoholism. Together, they planned to bring Michael back into the Quartermaine fold. In January 2002, A.J. begins pursuing Sonny's little sister, Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) in an effort to drive Sonny crazy and get Michael back.
In April 2002, A.J. marries Courtney and Sonny nearly kills him. A.J. offers to give Courtney a divorce if he gave Michael back but Sonny refuses the offer. A.J. eventually falls for Courtney and gave up his family for her. Sonny instructs Jason to watch over Courtney and A.J. is jealous of their budding relationship. He turns to alcohol and crashes his car through the Oasis strip club. Courtney becomes a stripper at the club to pay off his debt. A.J. burns down the club and Courtney convinces Jason to cover for him. Wanting Courtney to depend on him instead of Jason, A.J. hires the former owner of the Oasis, Coleman Ratcliffe (Blake Gibbons) to terrorize Courtney; however the plan backfires when Courtney learns the truth. Courtney wants to end the marriage and A.J. swears revenge on Jason. He teams up with Skye to frame Jason and Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) for the murder of Luis Alcazar (Ted King). A.J. gets his chance to run ELQ when he becomes CEO after Ned is falsely accused of rape. However, A.J.'s efforts to redeem himself came up short and he became involved with Lydia Karenin. The couple left town together after A.J. emptied his entire family's bank accounts.
A.J. returns in February 2005 to reveal that he and Courtney are still legally married when she announces her engagement to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher). A.J. also kidnaps Sonny's kids including Michael; he fakes Michael's death and attempts to leave the country with the boy. Instead, A.J. returned to the Quartermaine mansion and Alan attempts to help his son. Jason finally comes to the rescues and A.J. ends up shooting Alan during a confrontation with Jason. A.J. ends up in the hospital with a broken back, and he is apparently murdered by Dr. Asher Thomas on April 26, 2005. Years earlier, A.J. hired Dr. Thomas to kill Jason and Alan had been using the information to blackmail him. Michael is initially one of the suspects but his name is cleared after the truth is discovered.
2012–2014
A.J. resurfaces alive in October 2012, appearing at the Quartermaine Estate to console Monica after Jason's death. It is revealed that after being murdered, A.J. was revived by Monica and Steven Webber, who then smuggled him out of the hospital to a rehab facility overseas, while everyone was led to think he had died. After being warned by Monica not to leave the estate, due to the pending charges still against him, he leaves and makes contact with Michael (Chad Duell), wanting to be the father to him that he should have always been. Michael makes his intentions known that he wants nothing to do with A.J.; however, after Carly (Laura Wright) confesses the truth about her relationship with A.J., he begins to open up to the idea of hearing him out. Carly begins to believe A.J. is alive after seeing him briefly on the docks. When she goes to ask Monica about A.J., she catches A.J. and Michael together. Despite Michael's protesting, Carly calls Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), who arrests A.J. on the charges against him. Monica arranges for house arrest for A.J. by putting the mansion up as collateral. Tracy convinces A.J. that Michael is in trouble, making him cut off his ankle monitor to help him. When he finds Michael, A.J. meets Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco), Jason's widow, and their son, A.J.'s nephew, Daniel. Thanks to Tracy's schemes, A.J. is arrested again but he is released on bail thanks to his lawyer, Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy) convincing the judge of Tracy's treachery. On November 20, A.J. is devastated when Edward passes away before he gets a chance to see him again. He reconnects with his sister Skye and meets his niece Lila Rae Alcazar, when they return for Edward's funeral. As of December 2012, Diane successfully gets all the charges against A.J. dropped in exchange for A.J. proving information on criminal, Cesar Faison (Anders Hove).
AJ battles for an extended period in 2013 for control of the Quartermaine business, ELQ, with Tracy Quartermaine after Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) ordered Robin Scorpio-Drake to revive his henchman Franco and make him Jerry's look-alike to poison Pickle Lila and Pickle Eddie before the starting of The Chew. After the reveal that Kiki Jerome (Kristen Alderson) is not a Quartermaine, Tracy reclaims the CEO position. A.J. is accused of murdering Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) when he has a drunken night and the letters AJ is written in blood. Sonny arrives at the Quartermaine mansion with a gun prepared to murder A.J. in retribution, but Michael manages to talk his stepfather down, warning him that if Sonny were to kill A.J. it would mean he's lost both his fathers, as Michael would never forgive him. Sonny leaves, and A.J. is arrested – though he continues to have no memory of committing the crime.
A.J. finally gets his day in court during the November sweeps with Michael and Kiki at his side. He is later acquitted of the crime, as "there was just not enough evidence to convict an innocent man". A.J., torn by the verdict because he feels guilty, continues to drink excessively. Through his drinking, A.J. begins to have flashbacks about the night of the murder. In one of these, he remembers that Ava was there on the night of Connie's murder. When he confronts her, Ava retains her innocence. However, in February 2014, A.J., after seeing Connie in illusions and having survived a botched assassination, begins to become more confident that Ava murdered Connie. In March 2014, after confronting Ava about killing Connie, Sonny walks in and shoots A.J. Julian is mistakenly found over A.J's body when police officers Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) arrive to Ava's apartment. A.J. falls into a coma, waking up twice, to tell Michael that Julian Jerome (William deVry) didn't shoot him, and the second time to tell Carly that Sonny shot him. A.J. dies after begging Carly to stay and telling her Sonny shot him, not giving her enough time to get to a nurse. His spirit haunts Sonny and is then ushered into heaven by Emily where he is greeted by his grandparents, Lila and Edward.
References
External links
Soap Central profile
General Hospital characters
Fictional criminals in soap operas
Fictional socialites
Fictional alcohol abusers
Fictional murdered people | 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",
"Chambermaid is an EP by Emilie Autumn, released in 2001 by Seraph Records. Originally intended as a single from her album Enchant, Autumn has said she considers it to be an EP because she \"packed so much material onto it\". Most tracks were also subsequently released on different albums; \"What If (Blackbird Mix)\" appears as \"What If (Celtic Mix)\" on A Bit o' This & That. \"Chambermaid (Decomposition Mix)\" is the only track not found anywhere else.\n\nLyrics\nIn an interview, Autumn described the song \"Chambermaid\" as a \"fantastic drama\" she made up, saying, \"the song is not necessarily about me as I have never been the neglected and venomous woman that personifies the main character, but I have an overactive imagination and can easily conjure any number of spirits for inspiration.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nEmilie Autumn albums\n2001 EPs"
]
|
[
"Hedy Lamarr",
"Early life and European film career"
]
| C_0e315925e96f45e3917aef526ca1f775_1 | When was she born? | 1 | When was Hedy Lamarr born? | Hedy Lamarr | Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (nee Lichtwitz; 1894-1977) and Emil Kiesler (1880-1935). Her father was born to a Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv in Ukraine) and was a successful bank director. Her mother Gertrud was a pianist and Budapest native who came from an upper-class Jewish family; she had converted from Judaism to Catholicism and was described as a "practicing Christian", who raised her daughter as a Christian. Lamarr helped get her mother out of Austria (then under Nazi domination) and to the United States, and she later became an American citizen. Gertrud Kiesler put "Hebrew" as her race on her petition for naturalization as an American citizen. In the late 1920s, Lamarr was discovered as an actress and brought to Berlin by producer Max Reinhardt. Following her training in the theater, she returned to Vienna to work in the film industry, first as a script girl, and soon as an actress. In early 1933, at age 18, she starred in Gustav Machaty's film, Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). Her role was that of a neglected young wife married to an indifferent older man. The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing Lamarr's face in the throes of orgasm as well as close-up and brief nude scenes, a result of her being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses. Although she was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, the film gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, the film was considered an artistic work, while in America, it was considered overly sexual and received negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was banned there and in Germany. She went on to play a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Austrian royalty produced in Vienna, which won accolades from critics. Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet her. She sent most of them away, including a man who was more insistent, Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense financial status. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, due to Mandl's ties to Mussolini, and later, Hitler, but could not stop the headstrong Hedy. CANNOTANSWER | 1914 | Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor.
After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial Ecstasy (1933), she fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer, and secretly moved to Paris. Traveling to London, she met Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio head Louis B. Mayer, who offered her a movie contract in Hollywood. She became a film star with her performance in Algiers (1938). Her MGM films include Lady of the Tropics (1939), Boom Town (1940), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), and White Cargo (1942). Her greatest success was as Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949). She also acted on television before the release of her final film, The Female Animal (1958). She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
At the beginning of World War II, she and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. Although the US Navy did not adopt the technology until the 1960s, the principles of their work are incorporated into Bluetooth and GPS technology and are similar to methods used in legacy versions of CDMA and Wi-Fi. This work led to their induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
Early life
Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (born Lichtwitz; 1894–1977) and Emil Kiesler (1880–1935).
Her father was born to a Galician Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv in Ukraine) and was a bank director at the Creditanstalt-Bankverein. Trude, her mother, a pianist and Budapest native, had come from an upper-class Hungarian Jewish family. She had converted to Catholicism and was described as a "practicing Christian" who raised her daughter as a Christian, although Hedy was not formally baptized at the time.
As a child, Lamarr showed an interest in acting and was fascinated by theatre and film. At the age of 12, she won a beauty contest in Vienna. She also began to associate invention with her father, who would take her out on walks, explaining how various technologies in society functioned.
European film career
Early work
Lamarr was taking acting classes in Vienna when one day, she forged a note from her mother and went to Sascha-Film and was able to get herself hired as a script girl. While there, she was able to get a role as an extra in Money on the Street (1930), and then a small speaking part in Storm in a Water Glass (1931). Producer Max Reinhardt then cast her in a play entitled The Weaker Sex, which was performed at the Theater in der Josefstadt. Reinhardt was so impressed with her that he brought her with him back to Berlin.
However, she never actually trained with Reinhardt or appeared in any of his Berlin productions. Instead, she met the Russian theatre producer Alexis Granowsky, who cast her in his film directorial debut, The Trunks of Mr. O.F. (1931), starring Walter Abel and Peter Lorre. Granowsky soon moved to Paris, but Lamarr stayed in Berlin and was given the lead role in No Money Needed (1932), a comedy directed by Carl Boese. Lamarr then starred in the film which made her internationally famous.
Ecstasy
In early 1933, at age 18, Lamarr was given the lead in Gustav Machatý's film Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). She played the neglected young wife of an indifferent older man.
The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing Lamarr's face in the throes of orgasm as well as close-up and brief nude scenes, a result of her being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses.
Although she was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, the film gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, it was regarded an artistic work. In America it was considered overly sexual and received negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was banned there and in Germany.
Withdrawal
Lamarr played a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Empress Elisabeth of Austria produced in Vienna. It won accolades from critics. Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet her. She sent most of them away, including a man who was more insistent, Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her.
Mandl was an Austrian military arms merchant and munitions manufacturer who was reputedly the third-richest man in Austria. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense financial wealth. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, due to Mandl's ties to Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, and later, German Führer Adolf Hitler, but they could not stop the headstrong Lamarr.
On August 10, 1933, Lamarr married Mandl at the Karlische. She was 18 years old and he was 33. In her autobiography Ecstasy and Me, she described Mandl as an extremely controlling husband who strongly objected to her simulated orgasm scene in Ecstasy and prevented her from pursuing her acting career. She claimed she was kept a virtual prisoner in their castle home, Schloss Schwarzenau.
Mandl had close social and business ties to the Italian government, selling munitions to the country, and although like Hedy, his own father was Jewish, had ties to the Nazi regime of Germany, as well. Lamarr wrote that the dictators of both countries attended lavish parties at the Mandl home. Lamarr accompanied Mandl to business meetings, where he conferred with scientists and other professionals involved in military technology. These conferences were her introduction to the field of applied science and nurtured her latent talent in science.
Lamarr's marriage to Mandl eventually became unbearable, and she decided to separate herself from both her husband and country in 1937. In her autobiography, she wrote that she disguised herself as her maid and fled to Paris, but by other accounts, she persuaded Mandl to let her wear all of her jewelry for a dinner party, then disappeared afterward. She writes about her marriage:
Hollywood career
Louis B. Mayer and MGM
After arriving in London in 1937, she met Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, who was scouting for talent in Europe. She initially turned down the offer he made her (of $125 a week), but then booked herself onto the same New York bound liner as him, and managed to impress him enough to secure a $500 a week contract. Mayer persuaded her to change her name to Hedy Lamarr (to distance herself from her real identity, and "the Ecstasy lady" reputation associated with it), choosing the surname in homage to the beautiful silent film star, Barbara La Marr, on the suggestion of his wife, who admired La Marr. He brought her to Hollywood in 1938 and began promoting her as the "world's most beautiful woman".
Mayer loaned Lamarr to producer Walter Wanger, who was making Algiers (1938), an American version of the French film, Pépé le Moko (1937). Lamarr was cast in the lead opposite Charles Boyer. The film created a "national sensation", says Shearer. She was billed as an unknown but well-publicized Austrian actress, which created anticipation in audiences. Mayer hoped she would become another Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich. According to one viewer, when her face first appeared on the screen, "everyone gasped ... Lamarr's beauty literally took one's breath away."
In future Hollywood films, she was invariably typecast as the archetypal glamorous seductress of exotic origin. Her second American film was to be I Take This Woman, co-starring with Spencer Tracy under the direction of regular Dietrich collaborator, Josef von Sternberg. Von Sternberg was fired during the shoot, replaced by Frank Borzage. The film was put on hold, and Lamarr was put into Lady of the Tropics (1939), where she played a mixed-race seductress in Saigon opposite Robert Taylor. She returned to I Take This Woman, re-shot by W. S. Van Dyke. The resulting film was a flop.
Far more popular was Boom Town (1940) with Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert and Spencer Tracy; it made $5 million. MGM promptly reteamed Lamarr and Gable in Comrade X (1940), a comedy film in the vein of Ninotchka (1939), which was another hit.
Lamarr was teamed with James Stewart in Come Live with Me (1941), playing a Viennese refugee. Stewart was also in Ziegfeld Girl (1941), where Lamarr, Judy Garland and Lana Turner played aspiring showgirls - a big success.
Lamarr was top-billed in H. M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), although the film's protagonist was the title role played by Robert Young. She made a third film with Tracy, Tortilla Flat (1942). It was successful at the box office, as was Crossroads (1942) with William Powell.
Lamarr played the seductive native girl Tondelayo in White Cargo (1942), top billed over Walter Pidgeon. It was a huge hit. White Cargo contains arguably her most memorable film quote, delivered with provocative invitation: "I am Tondelayo. I make tiffin for you?" This line typifies many of Lamarr's roles, which emphasized her beauty and sensuality while giving her relatively few lines. The lack of acting challenges bored Lamarr. She reportedly took up inventing to relieve her boredom.
She was reunited with Powell in a comedy The Heavenly Body (1944), then was borrowed by Warner Bros for The Conspirators (1944). This was an attempt to repeat the success of Casablanca (1943), and RKO borrowed her for a melodrama Experiment Perilous (1944).
Back at MGM Lamarr was teamed with Robert Walker in the romantic comedy Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945), playing a princess who falls in love with a New Yorker. It was very popular, but would be the last film she made under her MGM contract.
Her off-screen life and personality during those years was quite different from her screen image. She spent much of her time feeling lonely and homesick. She might swim at her agent's pool, but shunned the beaches and staring crowds. When asked for an autograph, she wondered why anyone would want it. Writer Howard Sharpe interviewed her and gave his impression:
Author Richard Rhodes describes her assimilation into American culture:
Lamarr also had a penchant for speaking about herself in the third person.
Wartime fundraiser
Lamarr wanted to join the National Inventors Council, but was reportedly told by NIC member Charles F. Kettering and others that she could better help the war effort by using her celebrity status to sell war bonds.
She participated in a war bond-selling campaign with a sailor named Eddie Rhodes. Rhodes was in the crowd at each Lamarr appearance, and she would call him up on stage. She would briefly flirt with him before asking the audience if she should give him a kiss. The crowd would say yes, to which Hedy would reply that she would if enough people bought war bonds. After enough bonds were purchased, she would kiss Rhodes and he would head back into the audience. Then they would head off to the next war bond rally.
Producer
After leaving MGM in 1945, Lamarr formed a production company with Jack Chertok and made the thriller The Strange Woman (1946). It went over budget and only made minor profits.
She and Chertok then made Dishonored Lady (1947), another thriller starring Lamarr, which also went over budget - but was not a commercial success. She tried a comedy with Robert Cummings, Let's Live a Little (1948).
Later films
Lamarr enjoyed her biggest success playing Delilah against Victor Mature as the Biblical strongman in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah, the highest-grossing film of 1949. The film also won two Oscars.
Lamarr returned to MGM for a film noir with John Hodiak, A Lady Without Passport (1950), which flopped. More popular were two pictures she made at Paramount, a Western with Ray Milland, Copper Canyon (1950), and a Bob Hope spy spoof, My Favorite Spy (1951).
Her career went into decline. She went to Italy to play multiple roles in Loves of Three Queens (1954), which she also produced. However she lacked the experience necessary to make a success of such an epic production, and lost millions of dollars when she was unable to secure distribution of the picture.
She was Joan of Arc in Irwin Allen's critically panned epic, The Story of Mankind (1957) and did episodes of Zane Grey Theatre ("Proud Woman") and Shower of Stars ("Cloak and Dagger"). Her last film was a thriller The Female Animal (1958).
Lamarr was signed to act in the 1966 film Picture Mommy Dead, but was let go when she collapsed during filming from nervous exhaustion. She was replaced in the role of Jessica Flagmore Shelley by Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Inventor
Although Lamarr had no formal training and was primarily self-taught, she worked in her spare time on various hobbies and inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated drink. The beverage was unsuccessful; Lamarr herself said it tasted like Alka-Seltzer.
Among the few who knew of Lamarr's inventiveness was aviation tycoon Howard Hughes. She suggested he change the rather square design of his aeroplanes (which she thought looked too slow) to a more streamlined shape, based on pictures of the fastest birds and fish she could find. Lamarr discussed her relationship with Hughes during an interview, saying that while they dated, he actively supported her "tinkering" hobbies. He put his team of scientists and engineers at her disposal, saying they would do or make anything she asked for.
During World War II, Lamarr learned that radio-controlled torpedoes, an emerging technology in naval war, could easily be jammed and set off course. She thought of creating a frequency-hopping signal that could not be tracked or jammed. She contacted her friend, composer and pianist George Antheil, to help her develop a device for doing that, and he succeeded by synchronizing a miniaturized player-piano mechanism with radio signals. They drafted designs for the frequency-hopping system, which they patented. Antheil recalled:
Their invention was granted a patent under US Patent 2,292,387 on August 11, 1942 (filed using her married name Hedy Kiesler Markey). However, it was technologically difficult to implement, and at that time the U.S. Navy was not receptive to considering inventions coming from outside the military. In 1962 (at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis), an updated version of their design at last appeared on Navy ships.
In 1997, Lamarr and Antheil received the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award, given to individuals whose creative lifetime achievements in the arts, sciences, business, or invention fields have significantly contributed to society. Lamarr was featured on the Science Channel and the Discovery Channel. In 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Later years
Lamarr became a naturalized citizen of the United States at age 38 on April 10, 1953. Her autobiography, Ecstasy and Me, was published in 1966, although she said on TV that it was not written by her, and much of it was fictional. Lamarr later sued the publisher, saying that many details were fabricated by its ghost writer, Leo Guild. Lamarr, in turn, was sued by Gene Ringgold, who asserted that the book plagiarized material from an article he had written in 1965 for Screen Facts magazine.
In the late 1950s Lamarr designed and, with then-husband W. Howard Lee, developed the Villa LaMarr ski resort in Aspen, Colorado.
In 1966, Lamarr was arrested in Los Angeles for shoplifting. The charges were eventually dropped. In 1991, she was arrested on the same charge in Florida, this time for stealing $21.48 worth of laxatives and eye drops. She pleaded no contest to avoid a court appearance, and the charges were dropped in return for her promise to refrain from breaking any laws for a year. The shoplifting charges coincided with a failed attempt to return to the screen.
The 1970s were a decade of increasing seclusion for Lamarr. She was offered several scripts, television commercials, and stage projects, but none piqued her interest. In 1974, she filed a $10 million lawsuit against Warner Bros., claiming that the running parody of her name ("Hedley Lamarr") in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles infringed her right to privacy. Brooks said he was flattered; the studio settled out of court for an undisclosed nominal sum and an apology to Lamarr for "almost using her name". Brooks said that Lamarr "never got the joke". With her eyesight failing, Lamarr retreated from public life and settled in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1981.
A large Corel-drawn image of Lamarr won CorelDRAW's yearly software suite cover design contest in 1996. For several years, beginning in 1997, it was featured on boxes of the software suite. Lamarr sued the company for using her image without her permission. Corel countered that she did not own rights to the image. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in 1998.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Lamarr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6247 Hollywood Blvd adjacent to Vine Street where the walk is centered.
Lamarr became estranged from her older son, James Lamarr Loder, when he was 12 years old. Their relationship ended abruptly, and he moved in with another family. They did not speak again for almost 50 years. Lamarr left James Loder out of her will, and he sued for control of the US$3.3 million estate left by Lamarr in 2000. He eventually settled for US$50,000.
Seclusion
In the last decades of her life, the telephone became Lamarr's only means of communication with the outside world, even with her children and close friends. She often talked up to six or seven hours a day on the phone, but she spent hardly any time with anyone in person in her final years. A documentary, Calling Hedy Lamarr, was released in 2004 and featured her children, Anthony Loder and Denise Loder-DeLuca.
Death
Lamarr died in Casselberry, Florida, on January 19, 2000, of heart disease, aged 85. Her son Anthony Loder spread her ashes in Austria's Vienna Woods in accordance with her last wishes.
In 2014 a memorial to Lamarr was unveiled in Vienna's Central Cemetery.
Awards
Hedy Lamarr was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
In 1939, Lamarr was selected the "most promising new actress" of 1938 in a poll of area voters conducted by Philadelphia Record film critic. British moviegoers voted Hedy Lamarr the year's 10th best actress, for her performance in Samson and Delilah in 1951.
In 1997, Lamarr and George Antheil were jointly honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award and Lamarr also was the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, known as the "Oscars of inventing". The following year, Lamarr's native Austria awarded her the Viktor Kaplan Medal of the Austrian Association of Patent Holders and Inventors.
In 2006, the Hedy-Lamarr-Weg was founded in Vienna Meidling (12th District), named after the actress.
In 2013, the IQOQI installed a quantum telescope on the roof of the University of Vienna, which they named after her in 2014.
In 2014, Lamarr was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology. The same year, Anthony Loder's request that the remaining ashes of his mother should be buried in an honorary grave of the city of Vienna was realized. On November 7, her urn was buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery in Group 33 G, Tomb No. 80, not far from the centrally located presidential tomb.
On November 9, 2015, Google honored her on her 101st Birthday with a doodle.
On August 27, 2019, an asteroid was named after her: 32730 Lamarr
Marriages and children
Lamarr was married and divorced six times and had three children:
Friedrich Mandl (married 1933–1937), chairman of the Hirtenberger Patronen-Fabrik
Gene Markey (married 1939–1941), screenwriter and producer. She adopted a child, James Lamarr Markey (born January 9, 1939) during her marriage with Markey. (He was later adopted by Loder and was thereafter known as James Lamarr Loder.) Lamarr and Markey lived at 2727 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills, California during their marriage.
John Loder (married 1943–1947), actor. Children: Denise Loder (born January 19, 1945), married Larry Colton, a writer and former baseball player; and Anthony Loder (born February 1, 1947), married Roxanne who worked for illustrator James McMullan. Anthony Loder was featured in the 2004 documentary film Calling Hedy Lamarr.
Ernest "Ted" Stauffer (married 1951–1952), nightclub owner, restaurateur, and former bandleader
W. Howard Lee (married 1953–1960), a Texas oilman (who later married film actress Gene Tierney)
Lewis J. Boies (married 1963–1965), Lamarr's divorce lawyer
Following her sixth and final divorce in 1965, Lamarr remained unmarried for the last 35 years of her life.
Throughout, she claimed that James Lamarr Markey/Loder was biologically unrelated and adopted during her marriage to Gene Markey. However, years later James found documentation that he was the out-of-wedlock son of Lamarr and actor John Loder, whom she later married as her third husband. She had two more children with him: Denise (born 1945) and Anthony (born 1947) during their marriage.
Filmography
Source:
Radio appearances
In popular culture
The Mel Brooks 1974 western parody Blazing Saddles features a villain named "Hedley Lamarr". As a running gag, various characters mistakenly refer to him as "Hedy Lamarr" prompting him to testily reply "That's Hedley."
In the 1982 off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors and subsequent film adaptation (1986) Audrey II says to Seymour in the song 'Feed Me' that he can get Seymour anything he wants including "A date with Hedy Lamarr."
In 2008, an off-Broadway play, Frequency Hopping, features the lives of Lamarr and Antheil. The play was written and staged by Elyse Singer, and the script won a prize for best new play about science and technology from STAGE.
In 2010, Lamarr was selected out of 150 IT people to be featured in a short film launched by the British Computer Society on May 20.
Also during 2010, the New York Public Library exhibit Thirty Years of Photography at the New York Public Library included a photo of a topless Lamarr () by Austrian-born American photographer Trude Fleischmann.
In 2011, the story of Lamarr's frequency-hopping spread spectrum invention was explored in an episode of the Science Channel show Dark Matters: Twisted But True, a series that explores the darker side of scientific discovery and experimentation, which premiered on September 7. Her work in improving wireless security was part of the premiere episode of the Discovery Channel show How We Invented the World.
Also during 2011, Anne Hathaway revealed that she had learned that the original Catwoman was based on Lamarr, so she studied all of Lamarr's films and incorporated some of her breathing techniques into her portrayal of Catwoman in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.
In 2015, on November 9, the 101st anniversary of Lamarr's birth, Google paid tribute to Hedy Lamarr's work in film and her contributions to scientific advancement with an animated Google Doodle.
In 2016, Lamarr was depicted in an off-Broadway play, HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, a one-woman show written and performed by Heather Massie.
In 2016, the off-Broadway, one-actor show "Stand Still and Look Stupid: The Life Story of Hedy Lamarr." starring Emily Ebertz and written by Mike Broemmel went into production.
Also during 2016, Whitney Frost, a character in the TV show Agent Carter was inspired by Hedy Lamarr and Lauren Bacall.
In 2017, actress Celia Massingham portrayed Lamarr on The CW television series Legends of Tomorrow in the sixth episode of the third season, titled Helen Hunt. The episode is set in 1937 Hollywoodland. The episode aired on November 14, 2017.
Also during 2017, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, written and directed by Alexandra Dean and produced by Susan Sarandon, a documentary about Lamarr's career as an actress and later as an inventor, premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. It was released in theaters on November 24, 2017, and aired on PBS American Masters in May 2018.
In 2018, actress Alyssa Sutherland portrayed Lamarr on the NBC television series Timeless in the third episode of the second season, titled Hollywoodland. The episode aired March 25, 2018.
In 2021, Lamarr was mentioned in the first episode of the Marvel's What If...? The episode aired on August 11, 2021.
See also
Inventors' Day
List of Austrians
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Hedy Lamarr Foundation website
Hedy Lamarr profile at the National Inventors Hall of Fame
US Patent 2292387, owned by Hedy Kiesler Markey AKA Hedy Lamarr on Google Patents
US Patent 2292387 on WIPO Pantentscope
Profile, women-inventors.com
Hedy Lamarr at Reel Classics
Happy 100th Birthday Hedy Lamarr, Movie Star who Paved the Way for Wifi at CNet
"Most Beautiful Woman" by Day, Inventor by Night at NPR
Hedy Lamarr at Inventions
Hedy Lamarr: Q&A with Author Patrick Agan, Andre Soares, Alt Film Guide,
Hedy at a Hundred the centenary of Lamarr's birth, in the Ames Tribune, November 2014
"The unlikely life of inventor and Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr" (article and audio excerpts), Alex McClintock and Sharon Carleton, Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 14, 2014
Episode 6: Hedy Lamarr from Babes of Science podcasts
Hedy Lamarr before she came to Hollywood and Hedy Lamarr – brains, beauty and bad judgment at aenigma
1914 births
2000 deaths
20th-century American actresses
20th-century Austrian actresses
20th-century Austrian people
Actresses from Vienna
American anti-fascists
American film actresses
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Austrian emigrants to the United States
Austro-Hungarian Jews
Austrian film actresses
Austrian inventors
Illeists
Jewish American actresses
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
People with acquired American citizenship
Radio pioneers
Women inventors
20th-century American inventors | true | [
"Alannah Yip (born October 26, 1993) is a Canadian engineer and sport climber. She was a national champion for her age when she was twelve. She won a gold medal at the American Climbing Championships 2020 in Los Angeles, which qualified her for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.\n\nLife\nYip was born and raised in North Vancouver. She began climbing when she was nine when her godparent's children became interested in climbing. She won her first National Climbing Championship when she was twelve. She trained to be an engineer, specialising in mechatronics. She tried giving up climbing to concentrate on her university studies, but she realised that sport was essential. In 2015 she was able to visit Switzerland as part of her studies and she was able to practice climbing in her spare time with the Swiss national team. When she returned to Canada she began training with the \"Climb Base 5\" in preparation for the following years World Cup climbing events.\n\nYip graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2018.\n\nHer coach was Andrew Wilson in 2018 and she has been supported by Petro-Canada. She qualified for a place in sport climbing at the 2020 Summer Olympics by winning the 2020 IFSC Pan-American Championships.\n\nResults\n\nWorld championships\n\nPan American championships\n\nReferences\n\n1993 births\nLiving people\nPeople from North Vancouver\nCanadian engineers\nCanadian rock climbers\nSport climbers at the 2020 Summer Olympics\nOlympic sport climbers of Canada",
"Gertrude Mahon born Gertrude Tilson (15 April 1752 – after 1807) was a Dublin-born British courtesan and actress. She was nicknamed the \"Bird of Paradise\" by the press for her outrageous hats, clothes (and behaviour).\n\nLife\nMahon was born in Dublin in 1752. She was born into money; her mother was Gertrude, dowager countess of Kerry and her father James Tilson was a diplomat. \n\nIn 1764 she became rich when her father died and left her £3,000. Frances Burney commented on how keen she was to attract a man. She attracted the attention of a gambler named Gilbreath Mahon but because she was seventeen and she lacked her mother's approval they had to go abroad. She was pregnant in 1770 and her mother allowed the couple to wed as long as it was in Britain. They married on 14 December 1770 and their son, Robert Mahon, was born in the following January. Her mother cut off the money supply, her husband deserted her and she returned to live with her mother. When her mother died she left an income to her but she left the capital to her son.\n\nBy 1776 she was notorious for her love of clothes and the men she was being seen with. She was friends with others who were disreputable including Lord Cholmondeley and the courtesans Grace Elliott and Kitty Frederick. Although her mother had hoped that her relatives would care for her, they disowned her. Her adulteries were published in the Morning Post, she was said to be pregnant, and her husband was said to have received £500 to prevent him from naming her correspondents in court.\n\nIn 1781 an engraving of her and George Bodens with the title \"The Bird of Paradise and Colonel Witwou'd\" and another print satirising her hats and dress were published. She was nicknamed the \"Bird of Paradise\" because of her brightly coloured and outrageous clothes.\n\nMahon appeared on the stage and despite the plays being successful her performance was considered poor. She did continue to gather interest from the public for her clothes and in particular her hats.\n\nShe was heard of in 1808 but where and when she died is unknown.\n\nReferences\n\n1752 births\n1800s deaths\nActresses from Dublin (city)\nBritish courtesans\n18th-century British actresses\n19th-century British actresses"
]
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"1914"
]
| C_0e315925e96f45e3917aef526ca1f775_1 | Where was she born? | 2 | Where was Hedy Lamarr born? | Hedy Lamarr | Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (nee Lichtwitz; 1894-1977) and Emil Kiesler (1880-1935). Her father was born to a Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv in Ukraine) and was a successful bank director. Her mother Gertrud was a pianist and Budapest native who came from an upper-class Jewish family; she had converted from Judaism to Catholicism and was described as a "practicing Christian", who raised her daughter as a Christian. Lamarr helped get her mother out of Austria (then under Nazi domination) and to the United States, and she later became an American citizen. Gertrud Kiesler put "Hebrew" as her race on her petition for naturalization as an American citizen. In the late 1920s, Lamarr was discovered as an actress and brought to Berlin by producer Max Reinhardt. Following her training in the theater, she returned to Vienna to work in the film industry, first as a script girl, and soon as an actress. In early 1933, at age 18, she starred in Gustav Machaty's film, Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). Her role was that of a neglected young wife married to an indifferent older man. The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing Lamarr's face in the throes of orgasm as well as close-up and brief nude scenes, a result of her being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses. Although she was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, the film gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, the film was considered an artistic work, while in America, it was considered overly sexual and received negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was banned there and in Germany. She went on to play a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Austrian royalty produced in Vienna, which won accolades from critics. Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet her. She sent most of them away, including a man who was more insistent, Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense financial status. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, due to Mandl's ties to Mussolini, and later, Hitler, but could not stop the headstrong Hedy. CANNOTANSWER | Vienna, Austria-Hungary, | Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor.
After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial Ecstasy (1933), she fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer, and secretly moved to Paris. Traveling to London, she met Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio head Louis B. Mayer, who offered her a movie contract in Hollywood. She became a film star with her performance in Algiers (1938). Her MGM films include Lady of the Tropics (1939), Boom Town (1940), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), and White Cargo (1942). Her greatest success was as Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949). She also acted on television before the release of her final film, The Female Animal (1958). She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
At the beginning of World War II, she and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. Although the US Navy did not adopt the technology until the 1960s, the principles of their work are incorporated into Bluetooth and GPS technology and are similar to methods used in legacy versions of CDMA and Wi-Fi. This work led to their induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
Early life
Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (born Lichtwitz; 1894–1977) and Emil Kiesler (1880–1935).
Her father was born to a Galician Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv in Ukraine) and was a bank director at the Creditanstalt-Bankverein. Trude, her mother, a pianist and Budapest native, had come from an upper-class Hungarian Jewish family. She had converted to Catholicism and was described as a "practicing Christian" who raised her daughter as a Christian, although Hedy was not formally baptized at the time.
As a child, Lamarr showed an interest in acting and was fascinated by theatre and film. At the age of 12, she won a beauty contest in Vienna. She also began to associate invention with her father, who would take her out on walks, explaining how various technologies in society functioned.
European film career
Early work
Lamarr was taking acting classes in Vienna when one day, she forged a note from her mother and went to Sascha-Film and was able to get herself hired as a script girl. While there, she was able to get a role as an extra in Money on the Street (1930), and then a small speaking part in Storm in a Water Glass (1931). Producer Max Reinhardt then cast her in a play entitled The Weaker Sex, which was performed at the Theater in der Josefstadt. Reinhardt was so impressed with her that he brought her with him back to Berlin.
However, she never actually trained with Reinhardt or appeared in any of his Berlin productions. Instead, she met the Russian theatre producer Alexis Granowsky, who cast her in his film directorial debut, The Trunks of Mr. O.F. (1931), starring Walter Abel and Peter Lorre. Granowsky soon moved to Paris, but Lamarr stayed in Berlin and was given the lead role in No Money Needed (1932), a comedy directed by Carl Boese. Lamarr then starred in the film which made her internationally famous.
Ecstasy
In early 1933, at age 18, Lamarr was given the lead in Gustav Machatý's film Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). She played the neglected young wife of an indifferent older man.
The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing Lamarr's face in the throes of orgasm as well as close-up and brief nude scenes, a result of her being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses.
Although she was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, the film gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, it was regarded an artistic work. In America it was considered overly sexual and received negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was banned there and in Germany.
Withdrawal
Lamarr played a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Empress Elisabeth of Austria produced in Vienna. It won accolades from critics. Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet her. She sent most of them away, including a man who was more insistent, Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her.
Mandl was an Austrian military arms merchant and munitions manufacturer who was reputedly the third-richest man in Austria. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense financial wealth. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, due to Mandl's ties to Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, and later, German Führer Adolf Hitler, but they could not stop the headstrong Lamarr.
On August 10, 1933, Lamarr married Mandl at the Karlische. She was 18 years old and he was 33. In her autobiography Ecstasy and Me, she described Mandl as an extremely controlling husband who strongly objected to her simulated orgasm scene in Ecstasy and prevented her from pursuing her acting career. She claimed she was kept a virtual prisoner in their castle home, Schloss Schwarzenau.
Mandl had close social and business ties to the Italian government, selling munitions to the country, and although like Hedy, his own father was Jewish, had ties to the Nazi regime of Germany, as well. Lamarr wrote that the dictators of both countries attended lavish parties at the Mandl home. Lamarr accompanied Mandl to business meetings, where he conferred with scientists and other professionals involved in military technology. These conferences were her introduction to the field of applied science and nurtured her latent talent in science.
Lamarr's marriage to Mandl eventually became unbearable, and she decided to separate herself from both her husband and country in 1937. In her autobiography, she wrote that she disguised herself as her maid and fled to Paris, but by other accounts, she persuaded Mandl to let her wear all of her jewelry for a dinner party, then disappeared afterward. She writes about her marriage:
Hollywood career
Louis B. Mayer and MGM
After arriving in London in 1937, she met Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, who was scouting for talent in Europe. She initially turned down the offer he made her (of $125 a week), but then booked herself onto the same New York bound liner as him, and managed to impress him enough to secure a $500 a week contract. Mayer persuaded her to change her name to Hedy Lamarr (to distance herself from her real identity, and "the Ecstasy lady" reputation associated with it), choosing the surname in homage to the beautiful silent film star, Barbara La Marr, on the suggestion of his wife, who admired La Marr. He brought her to Hollywood in 1938 and began promoting her as the "world's most beautiful woman".
Mayer loaned Lamarr to producer Walter Wanger, who was making Algiers (1938), an American version of the French film, Pépé le Moko (1937). Lamarr was cast in the lead opposite Charles Boyer. The film created a "national sensation", says Shearer. She was billed as an unknown but well-publicized Austrian actress, which created anticipation in audiences. Mayer hoped she would become another Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich. According to one viewer, when her face first appeared on the screen, "everyone gasped ... Lamarr's beauty literally took one's breath away."
In future Hollywood films, she was invariably typecast as the archetypal glamorous seductress of exotic origin. Her second American film was to be I Take This Woman, co-starring with Spencer Tracy under the direction of regular Dietrich collaborator, Josef von Sternberg. Von Sternberg was fired during the shoot, replaced by Frank Borzage. The film was put on hold, and Lamarr was put into Lady of the Tropics (1939), where she played a mixed-race seductress in Saigon opposite Robert Taylor. She returned to I Take This Woman, re-shot by W. S. Van Dyke. The resulting film was a flop.
Far more popular was Boom Town (1940) with Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert and Spencer Tracy; it made $5 million. MGM promptly reteamed Lamarr and Gable in Comrade X (1940), a comedy film in the vein of Ninotchka (1939), which was another hit.
Lamarr was teamed with James Stewart in Come Live with Me (1941), playing a Viennese refugee. Stewart was also in Ziegfeld Girl (1941), where Lamarr, Judy Garland and Lana Turner played aspiring showgirls - a big success.
Lamarr was top-billed in H. M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), although the film's protagonist was the title role played by Robert Young. She made a third film with Tracy, Tortilla Flat (1942). It was successful at the box office, as was Crossroads (1942) with William Powell.
Lamarr played the seductive native girl Tondelayo in White Cargo (1942), top billed over Walter Pidgeon. It was a huge hit. White Cargo contains arguably her most memorable film quote, delivered with provocative invitation: "I am Tondelayo. I make tiffin for you?" This line typifies many of Lamarr's roles, which emphasized her beauty and sensuality while giving her relatively few lines. The lack of acting challenges bored Lamarr. She reportedly took up inventing to relieve her boredom.
She was reunited with Powell in a comedy The Heavenly Body (1944), then was borrowed by Warner Bros for The Conspirators (1944). This was an attempt to repeat the success of Casablanca (1943), and RKO borrowed her for a melodrama Experiment Perilous (1944).
Back at MGM Lamarr was teamed with Robert Walker in the romantic comedy Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945), playing a princess who falls in love with a New Yorker. It was very popular, but would be the last film she made under her MGM contract.
Her off-screen life and personality during those years was quite different from her screen image. She spent much of her time feeling lonely and homesick. She might swim at her agent's pool, but shunned the beaches and staring crowds. When asked for an autograph, she wondered why anyone would want it. Writer Howard Sharpe interviewed her and gave his impression:
Author Richard Rhodes describes her assimilation into American culture:
Lamarr also had a penchant for speaking about herself in the third person.
Wartime fundraiser
Lamarr wanted to join the National Inventors Council, but was reportedly told by NIC member Charles F. Kettering and others that she could better help the war effort by using her celebrity status to sell war bonds.
She participated in a war bond-selling campaign with a sailor named Eddie Rhodes. Rhodes was in the crowd at each Lamarr appearance, and she would call him up on stage. She would briefly flirt with him before asking the audience if she should give him a kiss. The crowd would say yes, to which Hedy would reply that she would if enough people bought war bonds. After enough bonds were purchased, she would kiss Rhodes and he would head back into the audience. Then they would head off to the next war bond rally.
Producer
After leaving MGM in 1945, Lamarr formed a production company with Jack Chertok and made the thriller The Strange Woman (1946). It went over budget and only made minor profits.
She and Chertok then made Dishonored Lady (1947), another thriller starring Lamarr, which also went over budget - but was not a commercial success. She tried a comedy with Robert Cummings, Let's Live a Little (1948).
Later films
Lamarr enjoyed her biggest success playing Delilah against Victor Mature as the Biblical strongman in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah, the highest-grossing film of 1949. The film also won two Oscars.
Lamarr returned to MGM for a film noir with John Hodiak, A Lady Without Passport (1950), which flopped. More popular were two pictures she made at Paramount, a Western with Ray Milland, Copper Canyon (1950), and a Bob Hope spy spoof, My Favorite Spy (1951).
Her career went into decline. She went to Italy to play multiple roles in Loves of Three Queens (1954), which she also produced. However she lacked the experience necessary to make a success of such an epic production, and lost millions of dollars when she was unable to secure distribution of the picture.
She was Joan of Arc in Irwin Allen's critically panned epic, The Story of Mankind (1957) and did episodes of Zane Grey Theatre ("Proud Woman") and Shower of Stars ("Cloak and Dagger"). Her last film was a thriller The Female Animal (1958).
Lamarr was signed to act in the 1966 film Picture Mommy Dead, but was let go when she collapsed during filming from nervous exhaustion. She was replaced in the role of Jessica Flagmore Shelley by Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Inventor
Although Lamarr had no formal training and was primarily self-taught, she worked in her spare time on various hobbies and inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated drink. The beverage was unsuccessful; Lamarr herself said it tasted like Alka-Seltzer.
Among the few who knew of Lamarr's inventiveness was aviation tycoon Howard Hughes. She suggested he change the rather square design of his aeroplanes (which she thought looked too slow) to a more streamlined shape, based on pictures of the fastest birds and fish she could find. Lamarr discussed her relationship with Hughes during an interview, saying that while they dated, he actively supported her "tinkering" hobbies. He put his team of scientists and engineers at her disposal, saying they would do or make anything she asked for.
During World War II, Lamarr learned that radio-controlled torpedoes, an emerging technology in naval war, could easily be jammed and set off course. She thought of creating a frequency-hopping signal that could not be tracked or jammed. She contacted her friend, composer and pianist George Antheil, to help her develop a device for doing that, and he succeeded by synchronizing a miniaturized player-piano mechanism with radio signals. They drafted designs for the frequency-hopping system, which they patented. Antheil recalled:
Their invention was granted a patent under US Patent 2,292,387 on August 11, 1942 (filed using her married name Hedy Kiesler Markey). However, it was technologically difficult to implement, and at that time the U.S. Navy was not receptive to considering inventions coming from outside the military. In 1962 (at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis), an updated version of their design at last appeared on Navy ships.
In 1997, Lamarr and Antheil received the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award, given to individuals whose creative lifetime achievements in the arts, sciences, business, or invention fields have significantly contributed to society. Lamarr was featured on the Science Channel and the Discovery Channel. In 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Later years
Lamarr became a naturalized citizen of the United States at age 38 on April 10, 1953. Her autobiography, Ecstasy and Me, was published in 1966, although she said on TV that it was not written by her, and much of it was fictional. Lamarr later sued the publisher, saying that many details were fabricated by its ghost writer, Leo Guild. Lamarr, in turn, was sued by Gene Ringgold, who asserted that the book plagiarized material from an article he had written in 1965 for Screen Facts magazine.
In the late 1950s Lamarr designed and, with then-husband W. Howard Lee, developed the Villa LaMarr ski resort in Aspen, Colorado.
In 1966, Lamarr was arrested in Los Angeles for shoplifting. The charges were eventually dropped. In 1991, she was arrested on the same charge in Florida, this time for stealing $21.48 worth of laxatives and eye drops. She pleaded no contest to avoid a court appearance, and the charges were dropped in return for her promise to refrain from breaking any laws for a year. The shoplifting charges coincided with a failed attempt to return to the screen.
The 1970s were a decade of increasing seclusion for Lamarr. She was offered several scripts, television commercials, and stage projects, but none piqued her interest. In 1974, she filed a $10 million lawsuit against Warner Bros., claiming that the running parody of her name ("Hedley Lamarr") in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles infringed her right to privacy. Brooks said he was flattered; the studio settled out of court for an undisclosed nominal sum and an apology to Lamarr for "almost using her name". Brooks said that Lamarr "never got the joke". With her eyesight failing, Lamarr retreated from public life and settled in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1981.
A large Corel-drawn image of Lamarr won CorelDRAW's yearly software suite cover design contest in 1996. For several years, beginning in 1997, it was featured on boxes of the software suite. Lamarr sued the company for using her image without her permission. Corel countered that she did not own rights to the image. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in 1998.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Lamarr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6247 Hollywood Blvd adjacent to Vine Street where the walk is centered.
Lamarr became estranged from her older son, James Lamarr Loder, when he was 12 years old. Their relationship ended abruptly, and he moved in with another family. They did not speak again for almost 50 years. Lamarr left James Loder out of her will, and he sued for control of the US$3.3 million estate left by Lamarr in 2000. He eventually settled for US$50,000.
Seclusion
In the last decades of her life, the telephone became Lamarr's only means of communication with the outside world, even with her children and close friends. She often talked up to six or seven hours a day on the phone, but she spent hardly any time with anyone in person in her final years. A documentary, Calling Hedy Lamarr, was released in 2004 and featured her children, Anthony Loder and Denise Loder-DeLuca.
Death
Lamarr died in Casselberry, Florida, on January 19, 2000, of heart disease, aged 85. Her son Anthony Loder spread her ashes in Austria's Vienna Woods in accordance with her last wishes.
In 2014 a memorial to Lamarr was unveiled in Vienna's Central Cemetery.
Awards
Hedy Lamarr was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
In 1939, Lamarr was selected the "most promising new actress" of 1938 in a poll of area voters conducted by Philadelphia Record film critic. British moviegoers voted Hedy Lamarr the year's 10th best actress, for her performance in Samson and Delilah in 1951.
In 1997, Lamarr and George Antheil were jointly honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award and Lamarr also was the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, known as the "Oscars of inventing". The following year, Lamarr's native Austria awarded her the Viktor Kaplan Medal of the Austrian Association of Patent Holders and Inventors.
In 2006, the Hedy-Lamarr-Weg was founded in Vienna Meidling (12th District), named after the actress.
In 2013, the IQOQI installed a quantum telescope on the roof of the University of Vienna, which they named after her in 2014.
In 2014, Lamarr was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology. The same year, Anthony Loder's request that the remaining ashes of his mother should be buried in an honorary grave of the city of Vienna was realized. On November 7, her urn was buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery in Group 33 G, Tomb No. 80, not far from the centrally located presidential tomb.
On November 9, 2015, Google honored her on her 101st Birthday with a doodle.
On August 27, 2019, an asteroid was named after her: 32730 Lamarr
Marriages and children
Lamarr was married and divorced six times and had three children:
Friedrich Mandl (married 1933–1937), chairman of the Hirtenberger Patronen-Fabrik
Gene Markey (married 1939–1941), screenwriter and producer. She adopted a child, James Lamarr Markey (born January 9, 1939) during her marriage with Markey. (He was later adopted by Loder and was thereafter known as James Lamarr Loder.) Lamarr and Markey lived at 2727 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills, California during their marriage.
John Loder (married 1943–1947), actor. Children: Denise Loder (born January 19, 1945), married Larry Colton, a writer and former baseball player; and Anthony Loder (born February 1, 1947), married Roxanne who worked for illustrator James McMullan. Anthony Loder was featured in the 2004 documentary film Calling Hedy Lamarr.
Ernest "Ted" Stauffer (married 1951–1952), nightclub owner, restaurateur, and former bandleader
W. Howard Lee (married 1953–1960), a Texas oilman (who later married film actress Gene Tierney)
Lewis J. Boies (married 1963–1965), Lamarr's divorce lawyer
Following her sixth and final divorce in 1965, Lamarr remained unmarried for the last 35 years of her life.
Throughout, she claimed that James Lamarr Markey/Loder was biologically unrelated and adopted during her marriage to Gene Markey. However, years later James found documentation that he was the out-of-wedlock son of Lamarr and actor John Loder, whom she later married as her third husband. She had two more children with him: Denise (born 1945) and Anthony (born 1947) during their marriage.
Filmography
Source:
Radio appearances
In popular culture
The Mel Brooks 1974 western parody Blazing Saddles features a villain named "Hedley Lamarr". As a running gag, various characters mistakenly refer to him as "Hedy Lamarr" prompting him to testily reply "That's Hedley."
In the 1982 off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors and subsequent film adaptation (1986) Audrey II says to Seymour in the song 'Feed Me' that he can get Seymour anything he wants including "A date with Hedy Lamarr."
In 2008, an off-Broadway play, Frequency Hopping, features the lives of Lamarr and Antheil. The play was written and staged by Elyse Singer, and the script won a prize for best new play about science and technology from STAGE.
In 2010, Lamarr was selected out of 150 IT people to be featured in a short film launched by the British Computer Society on May 20.
Also during 2010, the New York Public Library exhibit Thirty Years of Photography at the New York Public Library included a photo of a topless Lamarr () by Austrian-born American photographer Trude Fleischmann.
In 2011, the story of Lamarr's frequency-hopping spread spectrum invention was explored in an episode of the Science Channel show Dark Matters: Twisted But True, a series that explores the darker side of scientific discovery and experimentation, which premiered on September 7. Her work in improving wireless security was part of the premiere episode of the Discovery Channel show How We Invented the World.
Also during 2011, Anne Hathaway revealed that she had learned that the original Catwoman was based on Lamarr, so she studied all of Lamarr's films and incorporated some of her breathing techniques into her portrayal of Catwoman in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.
In 2015, on November 9, the 101st anniversary of Lamarr's birth, Google paid tribute to Hedy Lamarr's work in film and her contributions to scientific advancement with an animated Google Doodle.
In 2016, Lamarr was depicted in an off-Broadway play, HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, a one-woman show written and performed by Heather Massie.
In 2016, the off-Broadway, one-actor show "Stand Still and Look Stupid: The Life Story of Hedy Lamarr." starring Emily Ebertz and written by Mike Broemmel went into production.
Also during 2016, Whitney Frost, a character in the TV show Agent Carter was inspired by Hedy Lamarr and Lauren Bacall.
In 2017, actress Celia Massingham portrayed Lamarr on The CW television series Legends of Tomorrow in the sixth episode of the third season, titled Helen Hunt. The episode is set in 1937 Hollywoodland. The episode aired on November 14, 2017.
Also during 2017, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, written and directed by Alexandra Dean and produced by Susan Sarandon, a documentary about Lamarr's career as an actress and later as an inventor, premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. It was released in theaters on November 24, 2017, and aired on PBS American Masters in May 2018.
In 2018, actress Alyssa Sutherland portrayed Lamarr on the NBC television series Timeless in the third episode of the second season, titled Hollywoodland. The episode aired March 25, 2018.
In 2021, Lamarr was mentioned in the first episode of the Marvel's What If...? The episode aired on August 11, 2021.
See also
Inventors' Day
List of Austrians
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Hedy Lamarr Foundation website
Hedy Lamarr profile at the National Inventors Hall of Fame
US Patent 2292387, owned by Hedy Kiesler Markey AKA Hedy Lamarr on Google Patents
US Patent 2292387 on WIPO Pantentscope
Profile, women-inventors.com
Hedy Lamarr at Reel Classics
Happy 100th Birthday Hedy Lamarr, Movie Star who Paved the Way for Wifi at CNet
"Most Beautiful Woman" by Day, Inventor by Night at NPR
Hedy Lamarr at Inventions
Hedy Lamarr: Q&A with Author Patrick Agan, Andre Soares, Alt Film Guide,
Hedy at a Hundred the centenary of Lamarr's birth, in the Ames Tribune, November 2014
"The unlikely life of inventor and Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr" (article and audio excerpts), Alex McClintock and Sharon Carleton, Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 14, 2014
Episode 6: Hedy Lamarr from Babes of Science podcasts
Hedy Lamarr before she came to Hollywood and Hedy Lamarr – brains, beauty and bad judgment at aenigma
1914 births
2000 deaths
20th-century American actresses
20th-century Austrian actresses
20th-century Austrian people
Actresses from Vienna
American anti-fascists
American film actresses
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Austrian emigrants to the United States
Austro-Hungarian Jews
Austrian film actresses
Austrian inventors
Illeists
Jewish American actresses
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
People with acquired American citizenship
Radio pioneers
Women inventors
20th-century American inventors | true | [
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]
|
[
"Hedy Lamarr",
"Early life and European film career",
"When was she born?",
"1914",
"Where was she born?",
"Vienna, Austria-Hungary,"
]
| C_0e315925e96f45e3917aef526ca1f775_1 | How did her European film career begin? | 3 | How did Hedy Lamarr 's European film career begin? | Hedy Lamarr | Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (nee Lichtwitz; 1894-1977) and Emil Kiesler (1880-1935). Her father was born to a Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv in Ukraine) and was a successful bank director. Her mother Gertrud was a pianist and Budapest native who came from an upper-class Jewish family; she had converted from Judaism to Catholicism and was described as a "practicing Christian", who raised her daughter as a Christian. Lamarr helped get her mother out of Austria (then under Nazi domination) and to the United States, and she later became an American citizen. Gertrud Kiesler put "Hebrew" as her race on her petition for naturalization as an American citizen. In the late 1920s, Lamarr was discovered as an actress and brought to Berlin by producer Max Reinhardt. Following her training in the theater, she returned to Vienna to work in the film industry, first as a script girl, and soon as an actress. In early 1933, at age 18, she starred in Gustav Machaty's film, Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). Her role was that of a neglected young wife married to an indifferent older man. The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing Lamarr's face in the throes of orgasm as well as close-up and brief nude scenes, a result of her being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses. Although she was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, the film gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, the film was considered an artistic work, while in America, it was considered overly sexual and received negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was banned there and in Germany. She went on to play a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Austrian royalty produced in Vienna, which won accolades from critics. Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet her. She sent most of them away, including a man who was more insistent, Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense financial status. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, due to Mandl's ties to Mussolini, and later, Hitler, but could not stop the headstrong Hedy. CANNOTANSWER | In the late 1920s, Lamarr was discovered as an actress and brought to Berlin by producer Max Reinhardt. | Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor.
After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial Ecstasy (1933), she fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer, and secretly moved to Paris. Traveling to London, she met Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio head Louis B. Mayer, who offered her a movie contract in Hollywood. She became a film star with her performance in Algiers (1938). Her MGM films include Lady of the Tropics (1939), Boom Town (1940), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), and White Cargo (1942). Her greatest success was as Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949). She also acted on television before the release of her final film, The Female Animal (1958). She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
At the beginning of World War II, she and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. Although the US Navy did not adopt the technology until the 1960s, the principles of their work are incorporated into Bluetooth and GPS technology and are similar to methods used in legacy versions of CDMA and Wi-Fi. This work led to their induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
Early life
Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (born Lichtwitz; 1894–1977) and Emil Kiesler (1880–1935).
Her father was born to a Galician Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv in Ukraine) and was a bank director at the Creditanstalt-Bankverein. Trude, her mother, a pianist and Budapest native, had come from an upper-class Hungarian Jewish family. She had converted to Catholicism and was described as a "practicing Christian" who raised her daughter as a Christian, although Hedy was not formally baptized at the time.
As a child, Lamarr showed an interest in acting and was fascinated by theatre and film. At the age of 12, she won a beauty contest in Vienna. She also began to associate invention with her father, who would take her out on walks, explaining how various technologies in society functioned.
European film career
Early work
Lamarr was taking acting classes in Vienna when one day, she forged a note from her mother and went to Sascha-Film and was able to get herself hired as a script girl. While there, she was able to get a role as an extra in Money on the Street (1930), and then a small speaking part in Storm in a Water Glass (1931). Producer Max Reinhardt then cast her in a play entitled The Weaker Sex, which was performed at the Theater in der Josefstadt. Reinhardt was so impressed with her that he brought her with him back to Berlin.
However, she never actually trained with Reinhardt or appeared in any of his Berlin productions. Instead, she met the Russian theatre producer Alexis Granowsky, who cast her in his film directorial debut, The Trunks of Mr. O.F. (1931), starring Walter Abel and Peter Lorre. Granowsky soon moved to Paris, but Lamarr stayed in Berlin and was given the lead role in No Money Needed (1932), a comedy directed by Carl Boese. Lamarr then starred in the film which made her internationally famous.
Ecstasy
In early 1933, at age 18, Lamarr was given the lead in Gustav Machatý's film Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). She played the neglected young wife of an indifferent older man.
The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing Lamarr's face in the throes of orgasm as well as close-up and brief nude scenes, a result of her being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses.
Although she was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, the film gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, it was regarded an artistic work. In America it was considered overly sexual and received negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was banned there and in Germany.
Withdrawal
Lamarr played a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Empress Elisabeth of Austria produced in Vienna. It won accolades from critics. Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet her. She sent most of them away, including a man who was more insistent, Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her.
Mandl was an Austrian military arms merchant and munitions manufacturer who was reputedly the third-richest man in Austria. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense financial wealth. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, due to Mandl's ties to Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, and later, German Führer Adolf Hitler, but they could not stop the headstrong Lamarr.
On August 10, 1933, Lamarr married Mandl at the Karlische. She was 18 years old and he was 33. In her autobiography Ecstasy and Me, she described Mandl as an extremely controlling husband who strongly objected to her simulated orgasm scene in Ecstasy and prevented her from pursuing her acting career. She claimed she was kept a virtual prisoner in their castle home, Schloss Schwarzenau.
Mandl had close social and business ties to the Italian government, selling munitions to the country, and although like Hedy, his own father was Jewish, had ties to the Nazi regime of Germany, as well. Lamarr wrote that the dictators of both countries attended lavish parties at the Mandl home. Lamarr accompanied Mandl to business meetings, where he conferred with scientists and other professionals involved in military technology. These conferences were her introduction to the field of applied science and nurtured her latent talent in science.
Lamarr's marriage to Mandl eventually became unbearable, and she decided to separate herself from both her husband and country in 1937. In her autobiography, she wrote that she disguised herself as her maid and fled to Paris, but by other accounts, she persuaded Mandl to let her wear all of her jewelry for a dinner party, then disappeared afterward. She writes about her marriage:
Hollywood career
Louis B. Mayer and MGM
After arriving in London in 1937, she met Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, who was scouting for talent in Europe. She initially turned down the offer he made her (of $125 a week), but then booked herself onto the same New York bound liner as him, and managed to impress him enough to secure a $500 a week contract. Mayer persuaded her to change her name to Hedy Lamarr (to distance herself from her real identity, and "the Ecstasy lady" reputation associated with it), choosing the surname in homage to the beautiful silent film star, Barbara La Marr, on the suggestion of his wife, who admired La Marr. He brought her to Hollywood in 1938 and began promoting her as the "world's most beautiful woman".
Mayer loaned Lamarr to producer Walter Wanger, who was making Algiers (1938), an American version of the French film, Pépé le Moko (1937). Lamarr was cast in the lead opposite Charles Boyer. The film created a "national sensation", says Shearer. She was billed as an unknown but well-publicized Austrian actress, which created anticipation in audiences. Mayer hoped she would become another Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich. According to one viewer, when her face first appeared on the screen, "everyone gasped ... Lamarr's beauty literally took one's breath away."
In future Hollywood films, she was invariably typecast as the archetypal glamorous seductress of exotic origin. Her second American film was to be I Take This Woman, co-starring with Spencer Tracy under the direction of regular Dietrich collaborator, Josef von Sternberg. Von Sternberg was fired during the shoot, replaced by Frank Borzage. The film was put on hold, and Lamarr was put into Lady of the Tropics (1939), where she played a mixed-race seductress in Saigon opposite Robert Taylor. She returned to I Take This Woman, re-shot by W. S. Van Dyke. The resulting film was a flop.
Far more popular was Boom Town (1940) with Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert and Spencer Tracy; it made $5 million. MGM promptly reteamed Lamarr and Gable in Comrade X (1940), a comedy film in the vein of Ninotchka (1939), which was another hit.
Lamarr was teamed with James Stewart in Come Live with Me (1941), playing a Viennese refugee. Stewart was also in Ziegfeld Girl (1941), where Lamarr, Judy Garland and Lana Turner played aspiring showgirls - a big success.
Lamarr was top-billed in H. M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), although the film's protagonist was the title role played by Robert Young. She made a third film with Tracy, Tortilla Flat (1942). It was successful at the box office, as was Crossroads (1942) with William Powell.
Lamarr played the seductive native girl Tondelayo in White Cargo (1942), top billed over Walter Pidgeon. It was a huge hit. White Cargo contains arguably her most memorable film quote, delivered with provocative invitation: "I am Tondelayo. I make tiffin for you?" This line typifies many of Lamarr's roles, which emphasized her beauty and sensuality while giving her relatively few lines. The lack of acting challenges bored Lamarr. She reportedly took up inventing to relieve her boredom.
She was reunited with Powell in a comedy The Heavenly Body (1944), then was borrowed by Warner Bros for The Conspirators (1944). This was an attempt to repeat the success of Casablanca (1943), and RKO borrowed her for a melodrama Experiment Perilous (1944).
Back at MGM Lamarr was teamed with Robert Walker in the romantic comedy Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945), playing a princess who falls in love with a New Yorker. It was very popular, but would be the last film she made under her MGM contract.
Her off-screen life and personality during those years was quite different from her screen image. She spent much of her time feeling lonely and homesick. She might swim at her agent's pool, but shunned the beaches and staring crowds. When asked for an autograph, she wondered why anyone would want it. Writer Howard Sharpe interviewed her and gave his impression:
Author Richard Rhodes describes her assimilation into American culture:
Lamarr also had a penchant for speaking about herself in the third person.
Wartime fundraiser
Lamarr wanted to join the National Inventors Council, but was reportedly told by NIC member Charles F. Kettering and others that she could better help the war effort by using her celebrity status to sell war bonds.
She participated in a war bond-selling campaign with a sailor named Eddie Rhodes. Rhodes was in the crowd at each Lamarr appearance, and she would call him up on stage. She would briefly flirt with him before asking the audience if she should give him a kiss. The crowd would say yes, to which Hedy would reply that she would if enough people bought war bonds. After enough bonds were purchased, she would kiss Rhodes and he would head back into the audience. Then they would head off to the next war bond rally.
Producer
After leaving MGM in 1945, Lamarr formed a production company with Jack Chertok and made the thriller The Strange Woman (1946). It went over budget and only made minor profits.
She and Chertok then made Dishonored Lady (1947), another thriller starring Lamarr, which also went over budget - but was not a commercial success. She tried a comedy with Robert Cummings, Let's Live a Little (1948).
Later films
Lamarr enjoyed her biggest success playing Delilah against Victor Mature as the Biblical strongman in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah, the highest-grossing film of 1949. The film also won two Oscars.
Lamarr returned to MGM for a film noir with John Hodiak, A Lady Without Passport (1950), which flopped. More popular were two pictures she made at Paramount, a Western with Ray Milland, Copper Canyon (1950), and a Bob Hope spy spoof, My Favorite Spy (1951).
Her career went into decline. She went to Italy to play multiple roles in Loves of Three Queens (1954), which she also produced. However she lacked the experience necessary to make a success of such an epic production, and lost millions of dollars when she was unable to secure distribution of the picture.
She was Joan of Arc in Irwin Allen's critically panned epic, The Story of Mankind (1957) and did episodes of Zane Grey Theatre ("Proud Woman") and Shower of Stars ("Cloak and Dagger"). Her last film was a thriller The Female Animal (1958).
Lamarr was signed to act in the 1966 film Picture Mommy Dead, but was let go when she collapsed during filming from nervous exhaustion. She was replaced in the role of Jessica Flagmore Shelley by Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Inventor
Although Lamarr had no formal training and was primarily self-taught, she worked in her spare time on various hobbies and inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated drink. The beverage was unsuccessful; Lamarr herself said it tasted like Alka-Seltzer.
Among the few who knew of Lamarr's inventiveness was aviation tycoon Howard Hughes. She suggested he change the rather square design of his aeroplanes (which she thought looked too slow) to a more streamlined shape, based on pictures of the fastest birds and fish she could find. Lamarr discussed her relationship with Hughes during an interview, saying that while they dated, he actively supported her "tinkering" hobbies. He put his team of scientists and engineers at her disposal, saying they would do or make anything she asked for.
During World War II, Lamarr learned that radio-controlled torpedoes, an emerging technology in naval war, could easily be jammed and set off course. She thought of creating a frequency-hopping signal that could not be tracked or jammed. She contacted her friend, composer and pianist George Antheil, to help her develop a device for doing that, and he succeeded by synchronizing a miniaturized player-piano mechanism with radio signals. They drafted designs for the frequency-hopping system, which they patented. Antheil recalled:
Their invention was granted a patent under US Patent 2,292,387 on August 11, 1942 (filed using her married name Hedy Kiesler Markey). However, it was technologically difficult to implement, and at that time the U.S. Navy was not receptive to considering inventions coming from outside the military. In 1962 (at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis), an updated version of their design at last appeared on Navy ships.
In 1997, Lamarr and Antheil received the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award, given to individuals whose creative lifetime achievements in the arts, sciences, business, or invention fields have significantly contributed to society. Lamarr was featured on the Science Channel and the Discovery Channel. In 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Later years
Lamarr became a naturalized citizen of the United States at age 38 on April 10, 1953. Her autobiography, Ecstasy and Me, was published in 1966, although she said on TV that it was not written by her, and much of it was fictional. Lamarr later sued the publisher, saying that many details were fabricated by its ghost writer, Leo Guild. Lamarr, in turn, was sued by Gene Ringgold, who asserted that the book plagiarized material from an article he had written in 1965 for Screen Facts magazine.
In the late 1950s Lamarr designed and, with then-husband W. Howard Lee, developed the Villa LaMarr ski resort in Aspen, Colorado.
In 1966, Lamarr was arrested in Los Angeles for shoplifting. The charges were eventually dropped. In 1991, she was arrested on the same charge in Florida, this time for stealing $21.48 worth of laxatives and eye drops. She pleaded no contest to avoid a court appearance, and the charges were dropped in return for her promise to refrain from breaking any laws for a year. The shoplifting charges coincided with a failed attempt to return to the screen.
The 1970s were a decade of increasing seclusion for Lamarr. She was offered several scripts, television commercials, and stage projects, but none piqued her interest. In 1974, she filed a $10 million lawsuit against Warner Bros., claiming that the running parody of her name ("Hedley Lamarr") in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles infringed her right to privacy. Brooks said he was flattered; the studio settled out of court for an undisclosed nominal sum and an apology to Lamarr for "almost using her name". Brooks said that Lamarr "never got the joke". With her eyesight failing, Lamarr retreated from public life and settled in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1981.
A large Corel-drawn image of Lamarr won CorelDRAW's yearly software suite cover design contest in 1996. For several years, beginning in 1997, it was featured on boxes of the software suite. Lamarr sued the company for using her image without her permission. Corel countered that she did not own rights to the image. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in 1998.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Lamarr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6247 Hollywood Blvd adjacent to Vine Street where the walk is centered.
Lamarr became estranged from her older son, James Lamarr Loder, when he was 12 years old. Their relationship ended abruptly, and he moved in with another family. They did not speak again for almost 50 years. Lamarr left James Loder out of her will, and he sued for control of the US$3.3 million estate left by Lamarr in 2000. He eventually settled for US$50,000.
Seclusion
In the last decades of her life, the telephone became Lamarr's only means of communication with the outside world, even with her children and close friends. She often talked up to six or seven hours a day on the phone, but she spent hardly any time with anyone in person in her final years. A documentary, Calling Hedy Lamarr, was released in 2004 and featured her children, Anthony Loder and Denise Loder-DeLuca.
Death
Lamarr died in Casselberry, Florida, on January 19, 2000, of heart disease, aged 85. Her son Anthony Loder spread her ashes in Austria's Vienna Woods in accordance with her last wishes.
In 2014 a memorial to Lamarr was unveiled in Vienna's Central Cemetery.
Awards
Hedy Lamarr was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
In 1939, Lamarr was selected the "most promising new actress" of 1938 in a poll of area voters conducted by Philadelphia Record film critic. British moviegoers voted Hedy Lamarr the year's 10th best actress, for her performance in Samson and Delilah in 1951.
In 1997, Lamarr and George Antheil were jointly honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award and Lamarr also was the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, known as the "Oscars of inventing". The following year, Lamarr's native Austria awarded her the Viktor Kaplan Medal of the Austrian Association of Patent Holders and Inventors.
In 2006, the Hedy-Lamarr-Weg was founded in Vienna Meidling (12th District), named after the actress.
In 2013, the IQOQI installed a quantum telescope on the roof of the University of Vienna, which they named after her in 2014.
In 2014, Lamarr was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology. The same year, Anthony Loder's request that the remaining ashes of his mother should be buried in an honorary grave of the city of Vienna was realized. On November 7, her urn was buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery in Group 33 G, Tomb No. 80, not far from the centrally located presidential tomb.
On November 9, 2015, Google honored her on her 101st Birthday with a doodle.
On August 27, 2019, an asteroid was named after her: 32730 Lamarr
Marriages and children
Lamarr was married and divorced six times and had three children:
Friedrich Mandl (married 1933–1937), chairman of the Hirtenberger Patronen-Fabrik
Gene Markey (married 1939–1941), screenwriter and producer. She adopted a child, James Lamarr Markey (born January 9, 1939) during her marriage with Markey. (He was later adopted by Loder and was thereafter known as James Lamarr Loder.) Lamarr and Markey lived at 2727 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills, California during their marriage.
John Loder (married 1943–1947), actor. Children: Denise Loder (born January 19, 1945), married Larry Colton, a writer and former baseball player; and Anthony Loder (born February 1, 1947), married Roxanne who worked for illustrator James McMullan. Anthony Loder was featured in the 2004 documentary film Calling Hedy Lamarr.
Ernest "Ted" Stauffer (married 1951–1952), nightclub owner, restaurateur, and former bandleader
W. Howard Lee (married 1953–1960), a Texas oilman (who later married film actress Gene Tierney)
Lewis J. Boies (married 1963–1965), Lamarr's divorce lawyer
Following her sixth and final divorce in 1965, Lamarr remained unmarried for the last 35 years of her life.
Throughout, she claimed that James Lamarr Markey/Loder was biologically unrelated and adopted during her marriage to Gene Markey. However, years later James found documentation that he was the out-of-wedlock son of Lamarr and actor John Loder, whom she later married as her third husband. She had two more children with him: Denise (born 1945) and Anthony (born 1947) during their marriage.
Filmography
Source:
Radio appearances
In popular culture
The Mel Brooks 1974 western parody Blazing Saddles features a villain named "Hedley Lamarr". As a running gag, various characters mistakenly refer to him as "Hedy Lamarr" prompting him to testily reply "That's Hedley."
In the 1982 off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors and subsequent film adaptation (1986) Audrey II says to Seymour in the song 'Feed Me' that he can get Seymour anything he wants including "A date with Hedy Lamarr."
In 2008, an off-Broadway play, Frequency Hopping, features the lives of Lamarr and Antheil. The play was written and staged by Elyse Singer, and the script won a prize for best new play about science and technology from STAGE.
In 2010, Lamarr was selected out of 150 IT people to be featured in a short film launched by the British Computer Society on May 20.
Also during 2010, the New York Public Library exhibit Thirty Years of Photography at the New York Public Library included a photo of a topless Lamarr () by Austrian-born American photographer Trude Fleischmann.
In 2011, the story of Lamarr's frequency-hopping spread spectrum invention was explored in an episode of the Science Channel show Dark Matters: Twisted But True, a series that explores the darker side of scientific discovery and experimentation, which premiered on September 7. Her work in improving wireless security was part of the premiere episode of the Discovery Channel show How We Invented the World.
Also during 2011, Anne Hathaway revealed that she had learned that the original Catwoman was based on Lamarr, so she studied all of Lamarr's films and incorporated some of her breathing techniques into her portrayal of Catwoman in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.
In 2015, on November 9, the 101st anniversary of Lamarr's birth, Google paid tribute to Hedy Lamarr's work in film and her contributions to scientific advancement with an animated Google Doodle.
In 2016, Lamarr was depicted in an off-Broadway play, HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, a one-woman show written and performed by Heather Massie.
In 2016, the off-Broadway, one-actor show "Stand Still and Look Stupid: The Life Story of Hedy Lamarr." starring Emily Ebertz and written by Mike Broemmel went into production.
Also during 2016, Whitney Frost, a character in the TV show Agent Carter was inspired by Hedy Lamarr and Lauren Bacall.
In 2017, actress Celia Massingham portrayed Lamarr on The CW television series Legends of Tomorrow in the sixth episode of the third season, titled Helen Hunt. The episode is set in 1937 Hollywoodland. The episode aired on November 14, 2017.
Also during 2017, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, written and directed by Alexandra Dean and produced by Susan Sarandon, a documentary about Lamarr's career as an actress and later as an inventor, premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. It was released in theaters on November 24, 2017, and aired on PBS American Masters in May 2018.
In 2018, actress Alyssa Sutherland portrayed Lamarr on the NBC television series Timeless in the third episode of the second season, titled Hollywoodland. The episode aired March 25, 2018.
In 2021, Lamarr was mentioned in the first episode of the Marvel's What If...? The episode aired on August 11, 2021.
See also
Inventors' Day
List of Austrians
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Hedy Lamarr Foundation website
Hedy Lamarr profile at the National Inventors Hall of Fame
US Patent 2292387, owned by Hedy Kiesler Markey AKA Hedy Lamarr on Google Patents
US Patent 2292387 on WIPO Pantentscope
Profile, women-inventors.com
Hedy Lamarr at Reel Classics
Happy 100th Birthday Hedy Lamarr, Movie Star who Paved the Way for Wifi at CNet
"Most Beautiful Woman" by Day, Inventor by Night at NPR
Hedy Lamarr at Inventions
Hedy Lamarr: Q&A with Author Patrick Agan, Andre Soares, Alt Film Guide,
Hedy at a Hundred the centenary of Lamarr's birth, in the Ames Tribune, November 2014
"The unlikely life of inventor and Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr" (article and audio excerpts), Alex McClintock and Sharon Carleton, Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 14, 2014
Episode 6: Hedy Lamarr from Babes of Science podcasts
Hedy Lamarr before she came to Hollywood and Hedy Lamarr – brains, beauty and bad judgment at aenigma
1914 births
2000 deaths
20th-century American actresses
20th-century Austrian actresses
20th-century Austrian people
Actresses from Vienna
American anti-fascists
American film actresses
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Austrian emigrants to the United States
Austro-Hungarian Jews
Austrian film actresses
Austrian inventors
Illeists
Jewish American actresses
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
People with acquired American citizenship
Radio pioneers
Women inventors
20th-century American inventors | false | [
"Julia Bliss is a Russian actress, model and DJ.\n\nEarly life and career\nBliss was born in Russia and completed her graduation in IT and management from Omsk University. Julia begin her Bollywood career in 2008 with her debut film Ghost which released in January 2012.\n\nFilmography\n Ghost (lead role)\n Maattrraan (as Nadia)\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nPeople from Omsk\nRussian film actresses\nRussian female models\nRussian DJs\nRussian expatriates in India\nActresses in Hindi cinema\nActresses in Tamil cinema\nEuropean actresses in India\nEuropean actresses in Bollywood\nActresses of European descent in Indian films\nActresses of European descent in Bollywood films\nWomen DJs\n21st-century Russian actresses",
"\"When Will My Life Begin?\" is a song from Disney's 2010 animated feature film, Tangled. It is sung by Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), and serves as the \"I Want\" song of the film. It is reprised later on once she is allowed out of the tower for the first time. A short reprise with Rapunzel reiterating her situation, and reasoning that \"I've got my mother's love...I have everything\" etc., was cut from the final film, though was included in the soundtrack. Lyrics are by Glenn Slater, and music is by Alan Menken.\n\nProduction\n\"When Will My Life Begin?\" was the first song that was written for the movie. Alan Menken explained how he devised the song within the constraints of the chosen genre (guitar-themed score): \"When I thought about Rapunzel in the tower and her long hair, on a gut level, and I thought of the folk music of the 1960s—Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell—and, it wasn’t an immediate yes, but I wrote six different versions of that opening number [“When Will My Life Begin” performed by Mandy Moore as Rapunzel] and it worked\". Menken noted that in the context of the musical film's structure and to move the plot forward \"In Tangled, we had to have to have Rapunzel start with [the premise that] ‘everything’s great here [in the tower]’ and end with: ‘when will my life begin?’\".\n\nWhen asked by DenofGeek about the \"over-arching [musical] theme of the film\", Menken responded:\n\nThe film's Blu-ray disc features \"extended versions of the songs 'When Will My Life Begin?' and 'Mother Knows Best', with animatic renderings of the unfinished animation\". The main version originally had a prologue in which Rapunzel sings about how she had spent 6000 hours of her life locked up in a monotonous life, and how her 18th birthday is 24 hours away. Bennets Reviews wrote \"Interestingly, the first reprise of \"When Will My Life Begin\" does not appear in the film, though the second reprise does\".\n\nSynopsis\nThe film's \"opening tune\" is about how Rapunzel accomplishes many things throughout her day, but what she really wants is adventure and to be outside her tower. Spirituality & Practice explains \"For her entire life, Rapunzel has been dreaming about venturing out of the tower to see up-close-and-personal the floating lights in the sky that appear every year on her birthday. But to do so, she would have to step into the dangerous unknown world\".\n\nComposition\nThe song's tempo is \"moderately fast\", and the genre is \"rock\". Collider explains: \"Joni Mitchell is an influence on When Will My Life Begin?, and the barebones use of guitar provides a different feel. One can easily see the parallels that Menken and the directors went for in blending old with new, and there is an interesting result. Mother Gothel's songs feel as ancient as she is, while Rapunzel's songs have a truly youthful exuberance and feel.\" Alan Menken acknowledges that he was \"painfully aware\" of thematic similarities between this song and Quasimodo's \"I Want\" song \"Out There\" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) during the writing process, and \"wanted to make sure we avoided them\". He elaborated further however, explaining \"But there is a difference. Quasimodo looks out [from the church bell tower] and knows he wants to be out there in the world—but Rapunzel is not so sure; she’s afraid. We have to want it for her. So, it was a challenge. There’s also a very different energy in Tangled\".\n\nAnalysis\nThe One Year Father-Daughter Devotions noted that \"In the midst of her daily routine, [Rapunzel] sings a catchy song in which she wonders repeatedly, “When will my life begin?” What she's really asking is, When will I be making my own decisions and having my own new adventures in life?\". Thematically, the song harks back to similar songs in Disney's history. From Snow White to Tangled: Gender and Genre Fiction in Disney's \"Princess\" Animations notes the song is \"very similar to Snow Whites' first song 'I'm wishing'\". The academic paper From Rapunzel to Tangled and beyond: Multimedia practices in the language and literature classroom explains that at the very beginning of the movie when this song is sung, \"first Rapunzel is a maid\". It explains that in this scene, \"Rapunzel wants to go out the day of the birthday and her mother wants her to stay inside\". Comparing the song to the \"1920s jazz age-style\" Almost There from Princess and the Frog, Home Sweat Home: Perspectives on Housework and Modern Relationships says the song \"similarly elevates domestic routine to the level of the operatic\", describing Rapunzel as \"enslaved\".\n\nCritical reception\nFilmTracks wrote, \"Rapunzel's 'When Will My Life Begin?', representing the soundtrack's best mainstream appeal and the most likely candidate for awards consideration, is a Broadway-style rock song (Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita is emulated in some of the progressions) with acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, and aggressive percussion. Mandy Moore's performance in the lead is passable but a little too rough around the edges to put the stamp of approval upon her for this role. A princess' voice is typically prettier and better enunciated in spoken portions, so Moore may bother some listeners. This applies especially to the two reprises of 'When Will My Life Begin?', both of which orchestral and requiring better performance range in the merging of spoken and sung lyrics than Moore seems comfortable providing.\" Allmusic wrote \"\"When Will My Life Begin\" and \"Every Girl Can Be a Princess\" are lush, wittily written songs typical of latter-day Disney films\".\n\nCommonSenseMedia describes it as \"eternally optimistic\". Pajiba writes \"The only song that doesn't feel lifted [from an earlier Disney film] is Rapunzel's \"When Will My Life Begin?\", and that's because the guitar and rhythm instantly date it as a circa 2010 pop song performed by Mandy Moore. GaryWrightOnline named the song \"rather forgettable\". Vulture said \"Early on, Rapunzel sings a ditty called 'When Will My Life Begin?' that recounts how she spends her days and nights, and though it's awfully sprightly for a lifelong shut-in, Moore has a supple voice, the staging is amusing, and the tune (by Alan Menken) is catchy.\" Spirituality & Practice notes the song expresses the \"teenager's frustration\". Bennets Reviews wrote \"The album opens with \"When Will my Life Begin\" which also acts as Repunzel's theme. The song is a mix of orchestra and contemporary elements that actually blend together well. Mandy Moore's vocals may not be as strong as some of the vocals from other Menken scored films, but they still work fine in this instance\". The site added that \"I See the Light returns to the classic/contemporary blend heard in \"When Will My Life Begin\", though this time in a lovely romantic setting\".\n\nIn-popular culture\nFemale members of SM Entertainment's pre-debut trainees team SM Rookies Koeun, Hina, Herin, and Lami covered the song in the Disney Channel Korea show Mickey Mouse Club in 2015.\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\nSongs from Tangled\n2010 songs\nMandy Moore songs\nSongs with music by Alan Menken\nSongs with lyrics by Glenn Slater\nSong recordings produced by Alan Menken"
]
|
[
"Hedy Lamarr",
"Early life and European film career",
"When was she born?",
"1914",
"Where was she born?",
"Vienna, Austria-Hungary,",
"How did her European film career begin?",
"In the late 1920s, Lamarr was discovered as an actress and brought to Berlin by producer Max Reinhardt."
]
| C_0e315925e96f45e3917aef526ca1f775_1 | What films was she in? | 4 | What type of films did Hedy Lamarr star in? | Hedy Lamarr | Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (nee Lichtwitz; 1894-1977) and Emil Kiesler (1880-1935). Her father was born to a Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv in Ukraine) and was a successful bank director. Her mother Gertrud was a pianist and Budapest native who came from an upper-class Jewish family; she had converted from Judaism to Catholicism and was described as a "practicing Christian", who raised her daughter as a Christian. Lamarr helped get her mother out of Austria (then under Nazi domination) and to the United States, and she later became an American citizen. Gertrud Kiesler put "Hebrew" as her race on her petition for naturalization as an American citizen. In the late 1920s, Lamarr was discovered as an actress and brought to Berlin by producer Max Reinhardt. Following her training in the theater, she returned to Vienna to work in the film industry, first as a script girl, and soon as an actress. In early 1933, at age 18, she starred in Gustav Machaty's film, Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). Her role was that of a neglected young wife married to an indifferent older man. The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing Lamarr's face in the throes of orgasm as well as close-up and brief nude scenes, a result of her being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses. Although she was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, the film gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, the film was considered an artistic work, while in America, it was considered overly sexual and received negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was banned there and in Germany. She went on to play a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Austrian royalty produced in Vienna, which won accolades from critics. Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet her. She sent most of them away, including a man who was more insistent, Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense financial status. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, due to Mandl's ties to Mussolini, and later, Hitler, but could not stop the headstrong Hedy. CANNOTANSWER | film, Ecstasy ( | Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor.
After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial Ecstasy (1933), she fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer, and secretly moved to Paris. Traveling to London, she met Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio head Louis B. Mayer, who offered her a movie contract in Hollywood. She became a film star with her performance in Algiers (1938). Her MGM films include Lady of the Tropics (1939), Boom Town (1940), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), and White Cargo (1942). Her greatest success was as Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949). She also acted on television before the release of her final film, The Female Animal (1958). She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
At the beginning of World War II, she and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. Although the US Navy did not adopt the technology until the 1960s, the principles of their work are incorporated into Bluetooth and GPS technology and are similar to methods used in legacy versions of CDMA and Wi-Fi. This work led to their induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
Early life
Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (born Lichtwitz; 1894–1977) and Emil Kiesler (1880–1935).
Her father was born to a Galician Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv in Ukraine) and was a bank director at the Creditanstalt-Bankverein. Trude, her mother, a pianist and Budapest native, had come from an upper-class Hungarian Jewish family. She had converted to Catholicism and was described as a "practicing Christian" who raised her daughter as a Christian, although Hedy was not formally baptized at the time.
As a child, Lamarr showed an interest in acting and was fascinated by theatre and film. At the age of 12, she won a beauty contest in Vienna. She also began to associate invention with her father, who would take her out on walks, explaining how various technologies in society functioned.
European film career
Early work
Lamarr was taking acting classes in Vienna when one day, she forged a note from her mother and went to Sascha-Film and was able to get herself hired as a script girl. While there, she was able to get a role as an extra in Money on the Street (1930), and then a small speaking part in Storm in a Water Glass (1931). Producer Max Reinhardt then cast her in a play entitled The Weaker Sex, which was performed at the Theater in der Josefstadt. Reinhardt was so impressed with her that he brought her with him back to Berlin.
However, she never actually trained with Reinhardt or appeared in any of his Berlin productions. Instead, she met the Russian theatre producer Alexis Granowsky, who cast her in his film directorial debut, The Trunks of Mr. O.F. (1931), starring Walter Abel and Peter Lorre. Granowsky soon moved to Paris, but Lamarr stayed in Berlin and was given the lead role in No Money Needed (1932), a comedy directed by Carl Boese. Lamarr then starred in the film which made her internationally famous.
Ecstasy
In early 1933, at age 18, Lamarr was given the lead in Gustav Machatý's film Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). She played the neglected young wife of an indifferent older man.
The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing Lamarr's face in the throes of orgasm as well as close-up and brief nude scenes, a result of her being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses.
Although she was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, the film gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, it was regarded an artistic work. In America it was considered overly sexual and received negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was banned there and in Germany.
Withdrawal
Lamarr played a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Empress Elisabeth of Austria produced in Vienna. It won accolades from critics. Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet her. She sent most of them away, including a man who was more insistent, Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her.
Mandl was an Austrian military arms merchant and munitions manufacturer who was reputedly the third-richest man in Austria. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense financial wealth. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, due to Mandl's ties to Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, and later, German Führer Adolf Hitler, but they could not stop the headstrong Lamarr.
On August 10, 1933, Lamarr married Mandl at the Karlische. She was 18 years old and he was 33. In her autobiography Ecstasy and Me, she described Mandl as an extremely controlling husband who strongly objected to her simulated orgasm scene in Ecstasy and prevented her from pursuing her acting career. She claimed she was kept a virtual prisoner in their castle home, Schloss Schwarzenau.
Mandl had close social and business ties to the Italian government, selling munitions to the country, and although like Hedy, his own father was Jewish, had ties to the Nazi regime of Germany, as well. Lamarr wrote that the dictators of both countries attended lavish parties at the Mandl home. Lamarr accompanied Mandl to business meetings, where he conferred with scientists and other professionals involved in military technology. These conferences were her introduction to the field of applied science and nurtured her latent talent in science.
Lamarr's marriage to Mandl eventually became unbearable, and she decided to separate herself from both her husband and country in 1937. In her autobiography, she wrote that she disguised herself as her maid and fled to Paris, but by other accounts, she persuaded Mandl to let her wear all of her jewelry for a dinner party, then disappeared afterward. She writes about her marriage:
Hollywood career
Louis B. Mayer and MGM
After arriving in London in 1937, she met Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, who was scouting for talent in Europe. She initially turned down the offer he made her (of $125 a week), but then booked herself onto the same New York bound liner as him, and managed to impress him enough to secure a $500 a week contract. Mayer persuaded her to change her name to Hedy Lamarr (to distance herself from her real identity, and "the Ecstasy lady" reputation associated with it), choosing the surname in homage to the beautiful silent film star, Barbara La Marr, on the suggestion of his wife, who admired La Marr. He brought her to Hollywood in 1938 and began promoting her as the "world's most beautiful woman".
Mayer loaned Lamarr to producer Walter Wanger, who was making Algiers (1938), an American version of the French film, Pépé le Moko (1937). Lamarr was cast in the lead opposite Charles Boyer. The film created a "national sensation", says Shearer. She was billed as an unknown but well-publicized Austrian actress, which created anticipation in audiences. Mayer hoped she would become another Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich. According to one viewer, when her face first appeared on the screen, "everyone gasped ... Lamarr's beauty literally took one's breath away."
In future Hollywood films, she was invariably typecast as the archetypal glamorous seductress of exotic origin. Her second American film was to be I Take This Woman, co-starring with Spencer Tracy under the direction of regular Dietrich collaborator, Josef von Sternberg. Von Sternberg was fired during the shoot, replaced by Frank Borzage. The film was put on hold, and Lamarr was put into Lady of the Tropics (1939), where she played a mixed-race seductress in Saigon opposite Robert Taylor. She returned to I Take This Woman, re-shot by W. S. Van Dyke. The resulting film was a flop.
Far more popular was Boom Town (1940) with Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert and Spencer Tracy; it made $5 million. MGM promptly reteamed Lamarr and Gable in Comrade X (1940), a comedy film in the vein of Ninotchka (1939), which was another hit.
Lamarr was teamed with James Stewart in Come Live with Me (1941), playing a Viennese refugee. Stewart was also in Ziegfeld Girl (1941), where Lamarr, Judy Garland and Lana Turner played aspiring showgirls - a big success.
Lamarr was top-billed in H. M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), although the film's protagonist was the title role played by Robert Young. She made a third film with Tracy, Tortilla Flat (1942). It was successful at the box office, as was Crossroads (1942) with William Powell.
Lamarr played the seductive native girl Tondelayo in White Cargo (1942), top billed over Walter Pidgeon. It was a huge hit. White Cargo contains arguably her most memorable film quote, delivered with provocative invitation: "I am Tondelayo. I make tiffin for you?" This line typifies many of Lamarr's roles, which emphasized her beauty and sensuality while giving her relatively few lines. The lack of acting challenges bored Lamarr. She reportedly took up inventing to relieve her boredom.
She was reunited with Powell in a comedy The Heavenly Body (1944), then was borrowed by Warner Bros for The Conspirators (1944). This was an attempt to repeat the success of Casablanca (1943), and RKO borrowed her for a melodrama Experiment Perilous (1944).
Back at MGM Lamarr was teamed with Robert Walker in the romantic comedy Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945), playing a princess who falls in love with a New Yorker. It was very popular, but would be the last film she made under her MGM contract.
Her off-screen life and personality during those years was quite different from her screen image. She spent much of her time feeling lonely and homesick. She might swim at her agent's pool, but shunned the beaches and staring crowds. When asked for an autograph, she wondered why anyone would want it. Writer Howard Sharpe interviewed her and gave his impression:
Author Richard Rhodes describes her assimilation into American culture:
Lamarr also had a penchant for speaking about herself in the third person.
Wartime fundraiser
Lamarr wanted to join the National Inventors Council, but was reportedly told by NIC member Charles F. Kettering and others that she could better help the war effort by using her celebrity status to sell war bonds.
She participated in a war bond-selling campaign with a sailor named Eddie Rhodes. Rhodes was in the crowd at each Lamarr appearance, and she would call him up on stage. She would briefly flirt with him before asking the audience if she should give him a kiss. The crowd would say yes, to which Hedy would reply that she would if enough people bought war bonds. After enough bonds were purchased, she would kiss Rhodes and he would head back into the audience. Then they would head off to the next war bond rally.
Producer
After leaving MGM in 1945, Lamarr formed a production company with Jack Chertok and made the thriller The Strange Woman (1946). It went over budget and only made minor profits.
She and Chertok then made Dishonored Lady (1947), another thriller starring Lamarr, which also went over budget - but was not a commercial success. She tried a comedy with Robert Cummings, Let's Live a Little (1948).
Later films
Lamarr enjoyed her biggest success playing Delilah against Victor Mature as the Biblical strongman in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah, the highest-grossing film of 1949. The film also won two Oscars.
Lamarr returned to MGM for a film noir with John Hodiak, A Lady Without Passport (1950), which flopped. More popular were two pictures she made at Paramount, a Western with Ray Milland, Copper Canyon (1950), and a Bob Hope spy spoof, My Favorite Spy (1951).
Her career went into decline. She went to Italy to play multiple roles in Loves of Three Queens (1954), which she also produced. However she lacked the experience necessary to make a success of such an epic production, and lost millions of dollars when she was unable to secure distribution of the picture.
She was Joan of Arc in Irwin Allen's critically panned epic, The Story of Mankind (1957) and did episodes of Zane Grey Theatre ("Proud Woman") and Shower of Stars ("Cloak and Dagger"). Her last film was a thriller The Female Animal (1958).
Lamarr was signed to act in the 1966 film Picture Mommy Dead, but was let go when she collapsed during filming from nervous exhaustion. She was replaced in the role of Jessica Flagmore Shelley by Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Inventor
Although Lamarr had no formal training and was primarily self-taught, she worked in her spare time on various hobbies and inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated drink. The beverage was unsuccessful; Lamarr herself said it tasted like Alka-Seltzer.
Among the few who knew of Lamarr's inventiveness was aviation tycoon Howard Hughes. She suggested he change the rather square design of his aeroplanes (which she thought looked too slow) to a more streamlined shape, based on pictures of the fastest birds and fish she could find. Lamarr discussed her relationship with Hughes during an interview, saying that while they dated, he actively supported her "tinkering" hobbies. He put his team of scientists and engineers at her disposal, saying they would do or make anything she asked for.
During World War II, Lamarr learned that radio-controlled torpedoes, an emerging technology in naval war, could easily be jammed and set off course. She thought of creating a frequency-hopping signal that could not be tracked or jammed. She contacted her friend, composer and pianist George Antheil, to help her develop a device for doing that, and he succeeded by synchronizing a miniaturized player-piano mechanism with radio signals. They drafted designs for the frequency-hopping system, which they patented. Antheil recalled:
Their invention was granted a patent under US Patent 2,292,387 on August 11, 1942 (filed using her married name Hedy Kiesler Markey). However, it was technologically difficult to implement, and at that time the U.S. Navy was not receptive to considering inventions coming from outside the military. In 1962 (at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis), an updated version of their design at last appeared on Navy ships.
In 1997, Lamarr and Antheil received the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award, given to individuals whose creative lifetime achievements in the arts, sciences, business, or invention fields have significantly contributed to society. Lamarr was featured on the Science Channel and the Discovery Channel. In 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Later years
Lamarr became a naturalized citizen of the United States at age 38 on April 10, 1953. Her autobiography, Ecstasy and Me, was published in 1966, although she said on TV that it was not written by her, and much of it was fictional. Lamarr later sued the publisher, saying that many details were fabricated by its ghost writer, Leo Guild. Lamarr, in turn, was sued by Gene Ringgold, who asserted that the book plagiarized material from an article he had written in 1965 for Screen Facts magazine.
In the late 1950s Lamarr designed and, with then-husband W. Howard Lee, developed the Villa LaMarr ski resort in Aspen, Colorado.
In 1966, Lamarr was arrested in Los Angeles for shoplifting. The charges were eventually dropped. In 1991, she was arrested on the same charge in Florida, this time for stealing $21.48 worth of laxatives and eye drops. She pleaded no contest to avoid a court appearance, and the charges were dropped in return for her promise to refrain from breaking any laws for a year. The shoplifting charges coincided with a failed attempt to return to the screen.
The 1970s were a decade of increasing seclusion for Lamarr. She was offered several scripts, television commercials, and stage projects, but none piqued her interest. In 1974, she filed a $10 million lawsuit against Warner Bros., claiming that the running parody of her name ("Hedley Lamarr") in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles infringed her right to privacy. Brooks said he was flattered; the studio settled out of court for an undisclosed nominal sum and an apology to Lamarr for "almost using her name". Brooks said that Lamarr "never got the joke". With her eyesight failing, Lamarr retreated from public life and settled in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1981.
A large Corel-drawn image of Lamarr won CorelDRAW's yearly software suite cover design contest in 1996. For several years, beginning in 1997, it was featured on boxes of the software suite. Lamarr sued the company for using her image without her permission. Corel countered that she did not own rights to the image. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in 1998.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Lamarr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6247 Hollywood Blvd adjacent to Vine Street where the walk is centered.
Lamarr became estranged from her older son, James Lamarr Loder, when he was 12 years old. Their relationship ended abruptly, and he moved in with another family. They did not speak again for almost 50 years. Lamarr left James Loder out of her will, and he sued for control of the US$3.3 million estate left by Lamarr in 2000. He eventually settled for US$50,000.
Seclusion
In the last decades of her life, the telephone became Lamarr's only means of communication with the outside world, even with her children and close friends. She often talked up to six or seven hours a day on the phone, but she spent hardly any time with anyone in person in her final years. A documentary, Calling Hedy Lamarr, was released in 2004 and featured her children, Anthony Loder and Denise Loder-DeLuca.
Death
Lamarr died in Casselberry, Florida, on January 19, 2000, of heart disease, aged 85. Her son Anthony Loder spread her ashes in Austria's Vienna Woods in accordance with her last wishes.
In 2014 a memorial to Lamarr was unveiled in Vienna's Central Cemetery.
Awards
Hedy Lamarr was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
In 1939, Lamarr was selected the "most promising new actress" of 1938 in a poll of area voters conducted by Philadelphia Record film critic. British moviegoers voted Hedy Lamarr the year's 10th best actress, for her performance in Samson and Delilah in 1951.
In 1997, Lamarr and George Antheil were jointly honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award and Lamarr also was the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, known as the "Oscars of inventing". The following year, Lamarr's native Austria awarded her the Viktor Kaplan Medal of the Austrian Association of Patent Holders and Inventors.
In 2006, the Hedy-Lamarr-Weg was founded in Vienna Meidling (12th District), named after the actress.
In 2013, the IQOQI installed a quantum telescope on the roof of the University of Vienna, which they named after her in 2014.
In 2014, Lamarr was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology. The same year, Anthony Loder's request that the remaining ashes of his mother should be buried in an honorary grave of the city of Vienna was realized. On November 7, her urn was buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery in Group 33 G, Tomb No. 80, not far from the centrally located presidential tomb.
On November 9, 2015, Google honored her on her 101st Birthday with a doodle.
On August 27, 2019, an asteroid was named after her: 32730 Lamarr
Marriages and children
Lamarr was married and divorced six times and had three children:
Friedrich Mandl (married 1933–1937), chairman of the Hirtenberger Patronen-Fabrik
Gene Markey (married 1939–1941), screenwriter and producer. She adopted a child, James Lamarr Markey (born January 9, 1939) during her marriage with Markey. (He was later adopted by Loder and was thereafter known as James Lamarr Loder.) Lamarr and Markey lived at 2727 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills, California during their marriage.
John Loder (married 1943–1947), actor. Children: Denise Loder (born January 19, 1945), married Larry Colton, a writer and former baseball player; and Anthony Loder (born February 1, 1947), married Roxanne who worked for illustrator James McMullan. Anthony Loder was featured in the 2004 documentary film Calling Hedy Lamarr.
Ernest "Ted" Stauffer (married 1951–1952), nightclub owner, restaurateur, and former bandleader
W. Howard Lee (married 1953–1960), a Texas oilman (who later married film actress Gene Tierney)
Lewis J. Boies (married 1963–1965), Lamarr's divorce lawyer
Following her sixth and final divorce in 1965, Lamarr remained unmarried for the last 35 years of her life.
Throughout, she claimed that James Lamarr Markey/Loder was biologically unrelated and adopted during her marriage to Gene Markey. However, years later James found documentation that he was the out-of-wedlock son of Lamarr and actor John Loder, whom she later married as her third husband. She had two more children with him: Denise (born 1945) and Anthony (born 1947) during their marriage.
Filmography
Source:
Radio appearances
In popular culture
The Mel Brooks 1974 western parody Blazing Saddles features a villain named "Hedley Lamarr". As a running gag, various characters mistakenly refer to him as "Hedy Lamarr" prompting him to testily reply "That's Hedley."
In the 1982 off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors and subsequent film adaptation (1986) Audrey II says to Seymour in the song 'Feed Me' that he can get Seymour anything he wants including "A date with Hedy Lamarr."
In 2008, an off-Broadway play, Frequency Hopping, features the lives of Lamarr and Antheil. The play was written and staged by Elyse Singer, and the script won a prize for best new play about science and technology from STAGE.
In 2010, Lamarr was selected out of 150 IT people to be featured in a short film launched by the British Computer Society on May 20.
Also during 2010, the New York Public Library exhibit Thirty Years of Photography at the New York Public Library included a photo of a topless Lamarr () by Austrian-born American photographer Trude Fleischmann.
In 2011, the story of Lamarr's frequency-hopping spread spectrum invention was explored in an episode of the Science Channel show Dark Matters: Twisted But True, a series that explores the darker side of scientific discovery and experimentation, which premiered on September 7. Her work in improving wireless security was part of the premiere episode of the Discovery Channel show How We Invented the World.
Also during 2011, Anne Hathaway revealed that she had learned that the original Catwoman was based on Lamarr, so she studied all of Lamarr's films and incorporated some of her breathing techniques into her portrayal of Catwoman in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.
In 2015, on November 9, the 101st anniversary of Lamarr's birth, Google paid tribute to Hedy Lamarr's work in film and her contributions to scientific advancement with an animated Google Doodle.
In 2016, Lamarr was depicted in an off-Broadway play, HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, a one-woman show written and performed by Heather Massie.
In 2016, the off-Broadway, one-actor show "Stand Still and Look Stupid: The Life Story of Hedy Lamarr." starring Emily Ebertz and written by Mike Broemmel went into production.
Also during 2016, Whitney Frost, a character in the TV show Agent Carter was inspired by Hedy Lamarr and Lauren Bacall.
In 2017, actress Celia Massingham portrayed Lamarr on The CW television series Legends of Tomorrow in the sixth episode of the third season, titled Helen Hunt. The episode is set in 1937 Hollywoodland. The episode aired on November 14, 2017.
Also during 2017, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, written and directed by Alexandra Dean and produced by Susan Sarandon, a documentary about Lamarr's career as an actress and later as an inventor, premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. It was released in theaters on November 24, 2017, and aired on PBS American Masters in May 2018.
In 2018, actress Alyssa Sutherland portrayed Lamarr on the NBC television series Timeless in the third episode of the second season, titled Hollywoodland. The episode aired March 25, 2018.
In 2021, Lamarr was mentioned in the first episode of the Marvel's What If...? The episode aired on August 11, 2021.
See also
Inventors' Day
List of Austrians
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Hedy Lamarr Foundation website
Hedy Lamarr profile at the National Inventors Hall of Fame
US Patent 2292387, owned by Hedy Kiesler Markey AKA Hedy Lamarr on Google Patents
US Patent 2292387 on WIPO Pantentscope
Profile, women-inventors.com
Hedy Lamarr at Reel Classics
Happy 100th Birthday Hedy Lamarr, Movie Star who Paved the Way for Wifi at CNet
"Most Beautiful Woman" by Day, Inventor by Night at NPR
Hedy Lamarr at Inventions
Hedy Lamarr: Q&A with Author Patrick Agan, Andre Soares, Alt Film Guide,
Hedy at a Hundred the centenary of Lamarr's birth, in the Ames Tribune, November 2014
"The unlikely life of inventor and Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr" (article and audio excerpts), Alex McClintock and Sharon Carleton, Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 14, 2014
Episode 6: Hedy Lamarr from Babes of Science podcasts
Hedy Lamarr before she came to Hollywood and Hedy Lamarr – brains, beauty and bad judgment at aenigma
1914 births
2000 deaths
20th-century American actresses
20th-century Austrian actresses
20th-century Austrian people
Actresses from Vienna
American anti-fascists
American film actresses
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Austrian emigrants to the United States
Austro-Hungarian Jews
Austrian film actresses
Austrian inventors
Illeists
Jewish American actresses
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
People with acquired American citizenship
Radio pioneers
Women inventors
20th-century American inventors | false | [
"Ada Lundver (9 February 1942 – 6 October 2011) was an Estonian film actress and singer. She appeared in nearly thirty films.\n\nLife\nLundver was born in Käina Parish (now, Hiiumaa Parish), on the island of Hiiumaa in 1942. She used to spend each summer on the island with her grandmother.\n\nIn 1960 Lundver was working in a shoe factory in Tallinn. The following year, her life was transformed as she was acting with the State Philharmonic of the Estonian SSR. She was chosen from nearly 250 other applicants. She completed a course in pop singing before acting more. She and Eve Kivi became the most well known Estonian actresses. She made films in the 60s, and signed an agreement to make more films in 1969 - becoming the \"German slut in Russian movies\". She married Mikk Mikiver in 1971 and then made many more films. She made nearly thirty in total including \"Cold Land\", \"What Happened to Andres Lapeteus\" and \"Noon Barge\".\n\nHer marriage to Mikk Mikiver ended in 1983.\n\nLundver drank a lot after her career subsided. She died in Tallinn in 2011 and was buried at the city's Forest Cemetery beside her husband.\n\nReferences\n\n1942 births\n2011 deaths\nEstonian film actresses\nEstonian stage actresses\nEstonian television actresses\n20th-century Estonian women singers\nPeople from Hiiumaa Parish\nBurials at Metsakalmistu\n20th-century Estonian actresses\n21st-century Estonian actresses",
"Emily Benton Frith (March 22, 1894 – March 5, 1986) was an American documentary film producer and cinematographer who is known for her educational films for children. Frith was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1894. She founded an independent film company called Frith Films in the 1930s and made over 60 films for pre-school and primary school aged children. The California-based company was sold in 1967. During the Korean war, one of Frith's films, Bill German: 12 Year Old Businessman, was designated by the US Department of Education's list of \"102 Motion Pictures on Democracy.\" Many of Frith's films, such as Fire! Patty Learns What to Do, and What it Means to be an American, are available online through the Prelinger Archives. Frith's work was included in an exhibit called \"Mental Hygiene: Social Guidance Films 1945-70\" at the Museum of the Moving Image in 2000. Frith died in 1986 in The Dalles, Oregon.\n\nReferences \n\n1894 births\n1986 deaths\nAmerican women film producers\nWomen documentary filmmakers\n20th-century American women\n20th-century American people"
]
|
[
"Elizabeth of York",
"Niece of the king"
]
| C_bdda5598a0b8495fa8fed7044678e8e1_1 | What was the name of the King to which Elizabeth was a niece? | 1 | What was the name of the King to which Elizabeth was a niece? | Elizabeth of York | Elizabeth's mother made an alliance with Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, who had the closest claim to the throne of those in the Lancastrian party. Although Henry Tudor was descended from King Edward III, his claim to the throne was weak, due to an act of parliament passed during the reign of Richard II in the 1390s, that barred accession to the throne to any heirs of the legitimised offspring of Henry's great-great-grandparents, John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Despite this, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed Henry should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to unite the two rival houses. In December 1483, in the cathedral in Rennes, Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion. In 1484, Elizabeth of York and her sisters left Westminster Abbey and returned to court when Elizabeth Woodville was reconciled with Richard III, which may suggest that Elizabeth Woodville believed Richard III to be innocent of any possible role in the murder of her two sons (although this is unlikely owing to her involvement in Henry Tudor's failed invasion of October 1483). It was rumoured that Richard III intended to marry Elizabeth of York because his wife, Anne Neville, was dying and they had no surviving children. The Crowland Chronicle claimed that Richard III was forced to deny this unsavoury rumour. Soon after Anne Neville's death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal. On 7 August 1485, Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales and began marching inland. On 22 August 1485, Henry Tudor and Richard III fought the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III, despite having the larger army, was betrayed by one of his most powerful retainers, William Stanley, and died in battle. Henry Tudor took the crown by right of conquest as Henry VII. CANNOTANSWER | Richard III, | Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which marked the end of the Wars of the Roses. Together, they had seven children.
Elizabeth's younger brothers, the "Princes in the Tower", mysteriously disappeared shortly after the death of her father, King Edward IV. Although the 1484 act of Parliament Titulus Regius declared the marriage of her parents, Edward and Elizabeth Woodville, invalid, she and her sisters were subsequently welcomed back to court by Edward's brother, King Richard III. As a Yorkist princess, the final victory of the Lancastrian faction in the Wars of the Roses may have seemed a further disaster, but Henry Tudor knew the importance of Yorkist support for his invasion and promised to marry Elizabeth before he arrived in England. This may well have contributed to the haemorrhaging of Yorkist support for Richard.
Although Elizabeth seems to have played little part in politics, her marriage appears to have been a successful and happy one. Her eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales, died at age 15 in 1502, and three other children died young. Her second and only surviving son became King Henry VIII of England, while her daughters Margaret and Mary became queens of Scotland and of France, respectively.
Daughter of the king
Elizabeth of York was born at the Palace of Westminster as the eldest child of King Edward IV and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville. Her christening was celebrated at Westminster Abbey, sponsored by her grandmothers, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford; and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York. Her third sponsor was her cousin, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.
In 1469, aged three, she was briefly betrothed to George Neville, who was created the Duke of Bedford in anticipation of the marriage. His father John later supported George's uncle, the Earl of Warwick, in a rebellion against King Edward IV, and the betrothal was called off. In 1475, Louis XI agreed to the marriage of nine-year-old Elizabeth of York to his son Charles, the Dauphin of France. In 1482, however, Louis XI reneged on his promise. She was named a Lady of the Garter in 1477, at age eleven, along with her mother and her paternal aunt Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk.
Sister of the king
On 9 April 1483, Elizabeth's father, King Edward IV, unexpectedly died and her younger brother, Edward V, ascended to the throne; her uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed regent and protector of his nephews. Gloucester opted to take steps to isolate his nephews from their Woodville relations, including their own mother.
He intercepted Edward V while the latter was travelling from Ludlow, where he had been living as Prince of Wales, to London to be crowned king. Edward V was placed in the royal residence of the Tower of London, ostensibly for his protection. Elizabeth Woodville fled with her younger son Richard and her daughters, taking sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. Gloucester asked Archbishop Bourchier to take Richard with him, so that the boy could reside in the Tower and keep his brother Edward company. Elizabeth Woodville, under duress, eventually agreed.
Two months later, on 22 June 1483, Edward IV's marriage was declared invalid. It was claimed that Edward IV had, at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, already been betrothed to Lady Eleanor Butler. Parliament issued a bill, Titulus Regius ("Royal Title"), in support of this position. This measure legally bastardised the children of Edward IV, made them ineligible for the succession, and declared Gloucester the rightful king, with the right of succession reverting to children of George, 1st Duke of Clarence, another late brother of Gloucester, who had been attainted in 1478. Gloucester ascended to the throne as Richard III on 6 July 1483, and Edward and Richard disappeared soon afterwards. Rumours began to spread that they had been murdered, and these appear to have been increasingly widely credited, even though some undoubtedly emanated from overseas.
Niece of the king
Elizabeth's mother made an alliance with Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, who had the closest claim to the throne among the Lancastrian party. Although Henry Tudor was descended from King Edward III, his claim to the throne was weak, owing to an Act of Parliament of the reign of Richard II in the 1390s, which barred accession to the throne to any heirs of the legitimised offspring of Henry's great-great-grandparents, John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Whether such an unprecedented act had force of law is disputed. Whatever the merits of Henry's claim, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed he should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to unite the two rival houses. In December 1483, in the cathedral of Rennes, Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion.
In 1484, Elizabeth of York and her sisters left Westminster Abbey and returned to court when Elizabeth Woodville was apparently reconciled with Richard III. This may or may not suggest that Elizabeth Woodville believed Richard III to be innocent of any possible role in the murder of her two sons. It was rumoured that Richard III intended to marry Elizabeth of York because his wife, Anne Neville, was dying and they had no surviving children. The Crowland Chronicle claimed that Richard III was forced to deny this unsavoury rumour. Soon after Anne Neville's death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal.
Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales on 7 August 1485 and marched inland. On 22 August, Henry Tudor and Richard III fought the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III had the larger army, but was betrayed by one of his most powerful retainers, William Stanley, and died in battle. Henry Tudor took the crown by right of conquest as Henry VII.
Wife of the king
Though initially slow to keep his promise, Henry VII acknowledged the necessity of marrying Elizabeth of York to ensure the stability of his rule and weaken the claims of other surviving members of the House of York. It seems Henry wished to be seen as ruling in his own right, having claimed the throne by right of conquest and not by his marriage to the de facto heiress of the House of York. He had no intention of sharing power.
Henry VII had the Act of Titulus Regius repealed, thereby legitimising anew the children of Edward IV, and acknowledging Edward V as his predecessor. Though Richard III was regarded as a usurper, his reign was not ignored. Henry and Elizabeth required a papal dispensation to wed because of Canon Law frowning upon 'affinity": Both were descended from John of Gaunt or his older brother Lionel in the 4th degree, an issue that had caused much dispute and bloodshed as to which claim was superior. Two applications were sent, the first more locally, and the second one was slow in reaching Rome and slow to return with the response of the Pope. Ultimately, however, the marriage was approved by papal bull of Pope Innocent VIII dated March 1486 (one month after the wedding) stating that the Pope and his advisors "approveth confirmyth and stablishyth the matrimonye and coniuncion made betwene our sou[er]ayn lord King Henre the seuenth of the house of Lancastre of that one party And the noble Princesse Elyzabeth of the house of Yorke."
Because the journey to Rome and back took many months, and because Henry as king wanted to be certain that nobody could claim that his wedding to Elizabeth was unlawful or sinful, the more local application was obeyed first—it was sent to the papal legate for England and Scotland, which returned in January 1486. Cardinal Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated at the wedding of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York on 18 January 1486 in Westminster Abbey. Their first son, Arthur, was born on 20 September 1486, eight months after their marriage. Elizabeth of York was crowned queen on 25 November 1487. She gave birth to several more children, but only four survived infancy: Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary.
Despite being a political arrangement at first, the marriage proved successful and both partners appear to have slowly fallen in love with each other. Thomas Penn, in his biography of Henry VII writes that "[t]hough founded on pragmatism, Henry and Elizabeth's marriage had nevertheless blossomed throughout the uncertainty and upheaval of the previous eighteen years. This was a marriage of 'faithful love', of mutual attraction, affection and respect, from which the king seems to have drawn great strength."
Relationship with Henry Tudor
Regardless of her husband's ultimate reputation as a miser and the much more recent styling as the Winter King in the early 21st century, Henry understood the importance of pageantry to the establishment of a new dynasty. He knew, in time, he had to open his wallet to impress foreign ambassadors as well, and thereby use "soft power" to impress the crowned heads of Spain and France and prove that he was not yet another English king that would be forced off the throne. He would have needed Elizabeth as a source of how to set up a court properly, as evidenced by the fact that when he wed his wife, he had not seen England since he was fourteen years old whereas Elizabeth had been a princess living at court all her life until her father's death and would have been brought up understanding how to run a royal court. It is here that her influence was most likely felt along with her mother-in-law.
As Henry's wife, and as Queen, Elizabeth's fate was heavily tied to the success of the new Tudor dynasty. The throne had been unstable since before the birth of either Elizabeth or her nine-years-older husband and there was no way to be certain the couple would succeed at ending a civil war that had lasted 32 years. One tactic involved marrying off Yorkists to Lancastrians. Elizabeth's own sisters, Cecily and Anne of York, and her cousin, Margaret Pole, were Yorkist brides married to Lancastrian men loyal to Henry. Similar tactics had been used before by Richard III of England, though in that case the Titulus Regius had marred the status of Elizabeth and all of her sisters as illegitimate bastards, and Richard had no intention of making it difficult for the two sides of the conflict to return to factionalism when two were married into one- his actions show he was more interested in loyalty and eliminating rival claims by wedding them off to the inconsequential. Richard did this directly to Elizabeth's sister, Cecily, by wedding her to Richard Scrope. Elizabeth, thus, had motive to want to see to the successful welfare of her female relatives, but by no means could she foresee if it would guarantee peace at last. Loyalty had failed horribly for Richard.
Further complicating things is that the public image of Henry Tudor that has been handed down through time only concurs with the last years of his reign. Where, when, and how he spent his money is easily traceable by surviving documents, some written by the king himself and many more having his signature "Henry R" to indicate his oversight of entries, both his personal and the realms's finances, documented in every detail down to the last crumb. Surviving in the British National Archives are letters written by Elizabeth of York and also a records of her privy purse, giving ample proof that the rumour regarding Henry's mistreatment of his wife is egregiously false. The truth is that Elizabeth was a very pious woman and one of her life passions was charity, one of the three theological virtues of the Catholic Church. She gave away money and alms in very large quantities, to the point she indebted herself on many occasions. She also gave generously to monks and religious orders. Much of the criticism regarding the reign of Elizabeth's husband derives from the sneers of the nobility of the age, understandably bitter about the recentralisation of power with the king in London, and the later viciously critical views of Francis Bacon, but evidence from the British National Archives along with more recent work in archaeology present a much different portrait where Elizabeth had a much more generous, kind, and doting husband in Henry Tudor in private. Behind the scenes, the evidence reveals a man who opened the purse strings for his children, mother, and wife generously and actually had a penchant for music, merrymaking, and dance on specific special occasions and in spite of many enemies made at the climax of the Wars of the Roses, there were still staunch supporters and friends of Henry, and that Elizabeth had won their trust.
The records state that Elsyng Palace was one of two nurseries for Henry and Elizabeth's children and they are both places where Elizabeth spent much of her time when not at court. Within a year of the Battle of Bosworth, a friend of Henry Tudor, Thomas Lovell, began expanding and improving upon the Elsyng property to make it fit for Elizabeth, her husband, and her children-to-be, completed by the time of the birth of Prince Henry with inner and outer courts and ample places to play for the royal children. This was largely done as a gift, but it was completed in the newer Renaissance style and in time was suitable enough for Henry and Elizabeth's grandchildren and proves it was a much loved refuge for the king and his wife.
Elizabeth received a grand coronation where she was carried on a royal barge down the Thames, and more recent evidence suggests that Henry VII was as much a builder as his son and granddaughter and that his wife shared that interest: it is known now that Elizabeth had a hand in designing the former Greenwich Palace and that the Palace itself was well appointed for large scale entertaining. Records are very clear that Christmas was a raucous and special time for the royal family on the whole, evidenced by many surviving documents depicting a particularly lively court having a marvelous time, with copious amounts of imported wine, great amounts of money spent upon roasted meats, and entertainers. Henry also frequently bought gifts for Elizabeth and their children. The account books kept by Henry himself are crystal clear that he spent a great deal of gold on expensive cloth for both himself, his wife and his children.
Elizabeth of York did not exercise much political influence as queen due to her strong-minded mother-in-law Lady Margaret Beaufort, but she was reported to be gentle, kind, and generous to her relations, servants, and benefactors. One report does state that Henry VII chose to appoint Elizabeth's choice for a vacant Bishopric over his mother's choice, showing Henry's affection for, and willingness to listen to, Elizabeth. She seems to have had a love of books, patronising the English printer William Caxton. Elizabeth of York enjoyed music, dancing, and gambling; the last of these was a pastime she shared with her husband. She also kept greyhounds.
As queen, Elizabeth made arrangements for the education of her younger children, including the future Henry VIII. She also accompanied her husband on his diplomatic visit to Calais in 1500 to meet with Philip I of Castile, and she corresponded with Queen Isabella I of Castile before their children's marriage.
On 14 November 1501, Elizabeth of York's 15-year-old son Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. The pair were sent to Ludlow Castle, the traditional residence of the Prince of Wales. Arthur died in April 1502. The news of Arthur's death caused Henry VII to break down in grief, as much in fear for his dynasty as in mourning for his son. Elizabeth comforted him, telling him that he was the only child of his mother but had survived to become king, that God had left him with a son and two daughters, and that they were both young enough to have more children. When she returned to her own chambers, however, Elizabeth herself broke down with grief. Her attendants sent for Henry who, in turn, comforted her.
Death and aftermath
In 1502, Elizabeth of York became pregnant once more and spent her confinement period in the Tower of London. On 2 February 1503, she gave birth to a daughter, Catherine, but the child died a few days afterwards. Succumbing to a post partum infection, Elizabeth of York died on 11 February, her 37th birthday. Her family seems to have been devastated by her death and mourned her deeply. According to one biographer, the death of Elizabeth "broke the heart" of her husband and "shattered him." Another account says that Henry Tudor "privily departed to a solitary place and would no man should resort unto him." This is notable considering that, shortly after Elizabeth's death, records show he became deathly ill himself and would not allow any except his mother Margaret Beaufort near him, including doctors. For Henry Tudor to show his emotions, let alone any sign of infirmity, was highly unusual and alarming to members of his court. Within a little over two years, King Henry VII lost his oldest son, his wife, his baby daughter, and found himself having to honour the Treaty of Perpetual Peace.
In 2012, the Vaux Passional, an illuminated manuscript that was once the property of Henry VII, was rediscovered in the National Library of Wales. It depicts the aftermath of Elizabeth's death vividly. Henry VII is shown receiving the book containing the manuscript in mourning robes with a doleful expression on his face. In the background, behind their father, are the late queen's daughters, Mary and Margaret, in black veils. The red head of 11-year-old Prince Henry is shown weeping into the sheets of his mother's empty bed.
Henry VII entertained thoughts of remarriage to renew the alliance with Spain—Joanna, Dowager Queen of Naples (daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples), Joanna, Queen of Castile (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella), and Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Savoy (sister-in-law of Joanna of Castile), were all considered —but he died a widower in 1509. The specifications that Henry gave to his ambassadors outlining what he wanted in a second wife described Elizabeth. On each anniversary of her death, he decreed that a requiem mass be sung, the bells be tolled, and 100 candles be lit in her honour. Henry also continued to employ her minstrels each New Year.
The Tower of London was abandoned as a royal residence, as evidenced by the lack of records of its being used by the royal family after 1503. Royal births in the reign of Elizabeth's son, Henry VIII, took place in various other palaces.
Henry VII's reputation for miserliness became worse after Elizabeth's death.
He was buried with Elizabeth of York under their effigies in his Westminster Abbey chapel. Her tomb was opened in the 19th century and the wood casing of her lead coffin was found to have been removed to create space for the interment of her great-great-grandson James VI and I.
Children
Arthur, Prince of Wales (20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502)
Margaret, Queen of Scotland (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541)
Henry VIII, King of England (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547)
Elizabeth (2 July 1492 – 14 September 1495), buried in St Edward's Chapel, Westminster Abbey
Mary, Queen of France (18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533)
Edmund (1499 – 19 June 1500), buried in Westminster Abbey
Catherine (born and died 1503), buried in Westminster Abbey
Appearance and legacy
According to folklore, the "queen ... in the parlour" in the children's nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is Elizabeth of York, while her husband is the king counting his money. The symbol of the Tudor dynasty is the Tudor rose, which became a royal symbol for England upon Elizabeth's marriage to Henry VII in 1486. Her White Rose of York is most commonly proper to her husband's Red Rose of Lancaster and today, uncrowned, is still the floral emblem of England.
Elizabeth of York was renowned as a great beauty for her time; with regular features, tall, and a fair complexion, inheriting many traits from her father and her mother Elizabeth Woodville, who was considered at one point the most beautiful woman in the British Isles. She inherited her father's propensity towards height as most women of her generation were considerably smaller than . All other Tudor monarchs inherited her reddish gold hair and the trait became synonymous with the dynasty.
Depiction in media
In 2013 she was portrayed by Freya Mavor in the BBC series The White Queen
In 2017 Elizabeth was portrayed by Jodie Comer in the BBC series The White Princess
Ancestry
References
Sources
External links
1466 births
1503 deaths
15th-century English women
16th-century English women
15th-century English people
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Deaths in childbirth
English princesses
English royal consorts
Henry VII of England
House of Tudor
House of York
Irish royal consorts
Ladies of the Garter
People from Westminster
English Roman Catholics
Children of Edward IV of England | false | [
"Elizabeth, Lady Boleyn ( Wood) was a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VIII of England. Through her marriage to Sir James Boleyn, she was the aunt of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn. The two were not close, and Elizabeth Boleyn acted as her niece's gaoler when Queen Anne was arrested on charges of adultery, incest and conspiracy to kill the King.\n\nElizabeth Boleyn was one of the many relatives who benefitted from the success of her brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Boleyn, who was a successful ambassador and rose to the title Viscount Rochford in 1525. After Henry fell in love with Thomas' daughter, Anne, Thomas Boleyn was given the earldoms of Wiltshire and Ormonde, titles that his grandfather had held. \n\nDespite this, there seems to have been long-running animosity between Elizabeth Boleyn and her niece. In 1536 five women were appointed to serve Queen Anne while she was imprisoned in the Tower and to report to Sir William Kingston, the Lieutenant of the Tower, and through him to the King's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, all that the Queen said. These women included Elizabeth Boleyn; Queen Anne's aunt, Anne Shelton; Mary Kingston, the wife of Sir William Kingston, the Lieutenant of the Tower; Margaret Coffin, the wife of Queen Anne's Master of the Horse; and Elizabeth Stoner, wife of the King's Serjeant-at-Arms. Sir William Kingston described the five as \"honest and good women\", but Queen Anne said that it was \"a great unkindness in the King to set such about me as I have never loved\".\n\nIt was Elizabeth Boleyn and Mary Kingston who accompanied Queen Anne to her trial on 15 May 1536.\n\nReferences\n\nEnglish ladies-in-waiting\nYear of birth unknown\n16th-century deaths\n16th-century English women\nElizabeth\nWives of knights\nHousehold of Anne Boleyn",
"Elisabeth of Carinthia (also known as Elisabeth of Tyrol; – 28 October 1312), was a Duchess of Austria from 1282 and Queen of the Romans from 1298 until 1308, by marriage to King Albert I of Habsburg.\n\nLife\nBorn in Munich, Bavaria, she was the eldest daughter of Count Meinhard of Gorizia-Tyrol, and Elizabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany, widow of the late Hohenstaufen King Conrad IV of Germany. \n\nElizabeth thus was a half-sister of Conradin, King of Jerusalem and Duke of Swabia. Elizabeth was in fact better connected to powerful German rulers than her future husband: a descendant of earlier monarchs, for example Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, she was also a niece of the Bavarian dukes, Austria's important neighbors.\n\nDuchess and Queen\nShe was married in Vienna on 20 December 1274 to Count Albert I of Habsburg, eldest son and heir of the newly elected Rudolf I, King of the Romans, thus becoming daughter-in-law of the King of the Romans and Emperor-to-be. After Rudolf had defeated his rival King Ottokar II of Bohemia in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld, he invested his son Albert with the duchies of Austria and Styria at the Imperial Diet in Augsburg on 17 December 1282. \n\nAlbert initially had to share the rule with his younger brother Rudolf II, who nevertheless had to waive his rights according to the Treaty of Rheinfelden the next year. Duke Albert and Elizabeth solidified their rule in what was to become the Habsburg \"hereditary lands\", also with the help of Elizabeth's father Meinhard, who in his turn was created Duke of Carinthia by King Rudolf I in 1286.\n\nElizabeth was described as shrewd and enterprising, in possession of some commercial talents. The construction of the Saline plant in Salzkammergut goes back to her suggestion. \n\nUpon the death of Albert's father in 1291, the princes elected Count Adolf of Nassau German king, while Duke Albert himself became entangled in internal struggles with the Austrian nobility. Not until Adolf's deposition in 1298, Elizabeth's husband was finally elected King of the Romans on 23 June 1298. Two weeks later, Adolf was defeated and killed in the Battle of Göllheim. In 1299, Elizabeth was crowned Queen of the Romans in Nuremberg.\n\nLater life\nOn 1 May 1308 her husband was murdered by his nephew John \"the Parricide\" near Windisch, Swabia (in modern-day Switzerland). After Albert's assassination, Elizabeth had the Poor Clare monastery of Königsfelden erected at the site, where she died on 28 October 1312 and was also buried. Today her mortal remains rest at Saint Paul's Abbey in Carinthia.\n\nIssue\nElizabeth's and Albert's children were:\n Rudolf III (ca. 1282 – 4 July 1307), married but line extinct. He predeceased his father.\n married on 25 May 1300 to Duchess Blanche of France (ca. 1282 – 1305);\n married in Prague on 16 October 1306 to Elizabeth Richeza of Poland (1288 – 1335).\n Frederick I (1289 – 13 January 1330).\n married on 11 May 1315 to Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Germany (1305 – 1330) but line extinct.\n Leopold I (4 August 1290 – 28 February 1326, Strassburg).\n married in 1315 to Catherine of Savoy (1284 – 1336).\n Albert II (12 December 1298, Vienna – 20 July 1358, Vienna).\n married in Vienna on 15 February 1324 to Joanna of Pfirt (ca. 1300 – 1351).\n Henry the Gentle (1299 – 3 February 1327, Bruck an der Mur).\n married Countess Elizabeth of Virneburg but line extinct.\n Meinhard, 1300 died young.\n Otto (23 July 1301, Vienna – 26 February 1339, Vienna).\n married on 15 May 1325 to Elizabeth of Bavaria, Duchess of Austria (ca. 1306 – 1330);\n married on 16 February 1335 to Anne of Bohemia, Duchess of Austria (1323 – 1338).\n Anna 1275, Vienna – 19 March 1327, Breslau).\n married in Graz ca. 1295 to Margrave Herman, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel (ca. 1275 – 1308);\n married in Breslau 1310 to Duke Heinrich VI of Breslau (1294-1335).\n Agnes (18 May 1281 – 10 June 1364, Königsfelden)\n married in Vienna on 13 February 1296 to King Andrew III of Hungary (ca. 1265-1301).\n Elisabeth (d. 19 May 1353).\n married in 1304 to Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (1282 – 1328).\n Catherine (1295 – 18 January 1323, Naples).\n married in 1316 to Charles, Duke of Calabria (1328 – 1298).\n Jutta (d. 1329).\n married in Baden 26 March 1319 to Count Ludwig VI of Öttingen.\n\nReferences\n\n1262 births\n1312 deaths\n13th-century German nobility\n14th-century German nobility\n13th-century German women\n14th-century German women\n13th-century House of Habsburg\n14th-century House of Habsburg\nGerman queens consort\nAustrian royal consorts\nHouse of Gorizia\nBurials at Königsfelden Monastery\nPeople from the Duchy of Austria"
]
|
[
"Elizabeth of York",
"Niece of the king",
"What was the name of the King to which Elizabeth was a niece?",
"Richard III,"
]
| C_bdda5598a0b8495fa8fed7044678e8e1_1 | When did Richard die? | 2 | When did King Richard die? | Elizabeth of York | Elizabeth's mother made an alliance with Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, who had the closest claim to the throne of those in the Lancastrian party. Although Henry Tudor was descended from King Edward III, his claim to the throne was weak, due to an act of parliament passed during the reign of Richard II in the 1390s, that barred accession to the throne to any heirs of the legitimised offspring of Henry's great-great-grandparents, John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Despite this, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed Henry should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to unite the two rival houses. In December 1483, in the cathedral in Rennes, Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion. In 1484, Elizabeth of York and her sisters left Westminster Abbey and returned to court when Elizabeth Woodville was reconciled with Richard III, which may suggest that Elizabeth Woodville believed Richard III to be innocent of any possible role in the murder of her two sons (although this is unlikely owing to her involvement in Henry Tudor's failed invasion of October 1483). It was rumoured that Richard III intended to marry Elizabeth of York because his wife, Anne Neville, was dying and they had no surviving children. The Crowland Chronicle claimed that Richard III was forced to deny this unsavoury rumour. Soon after Anne Neville's death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal. On 7 August 1485, Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales and began marching inland. On 22 August 1485, Henry Tudor and Richard III fought the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III, despite having the larger army, was betrayed by one of his most powerful retainers, William Stanley, and died in battle. Henry Tudor took the crown by right of conquest as Henry VII. CANNOTANSWER | 22 August 1485, | Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which marked the end of the Wars of the Roses. Together, they had seven children.
Elizabeth's younger brothers, the "Princes in the Tower", mysteriously disappeared shortly after the death of her father, King Edward IV. Although the 1484 act of Parliament Titulus Regius declared the marriage of her parents, Edward and Elizabeth Woodville, invalid, she and her sisters were subsequently welcomed back to court by Edward's brother, King Richard III. As a Yorkist princess, the final victory of the Lancastrian faction in the Wars of the Roses may have seemed a further disaster, but Henry Tudor knew the importance of Yorkist support for his invasion and promised to marry Elizabeth before he arrived in England. This may well have contributed to the haemorrhaging of Yorkist support for Richard.
Although Elizabeth seems to have played little part in politics, her marriage appears to have been a successful and happy one. Her eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales, died at age 15 in 1502, and three other children died young. Her second and only surviving son became King Henry VIII of England, while her daughters Margaret and Mary became queens of Scotland and of France, respectively.
Daughter of the king
Elizabeth of York was born at the Palace of Westminster as the eldest child of King Edward IV and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville. Her christening was celebrated at Westminster Abbey, sponsored by her grandmothers, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford; and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York. Her third sponsor was her cousin, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.
In 1469, aged three, she was briefly betrothed to George Neville, who was created the Duke of Bedford in anticipation of the marriage. His father John later supported George's uncle, the Earl of Warwick, in a rebellion against King Edward IV, and the betrothal was called off. In 1475, Louis XI agreed to the marriage of nine-year-old Elizabeth of York to his son Charles, the Dauphin of France. In 1482, however, Louis XI reneged on his promise. She was named a Lady of the Garter in 1477, at age eleven, along with her mother and her paternal aunt Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk.
Sister of the king
On 9 April 1483, Elizabeth's father, King Edward IV, unexpectedly died and her younger brother, Edward V, ascended to the throne; her uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed regent and protector of his nephews. Gloucester opted to take steps to isolate his nephews from their Woodville relations, including their own mother.
He intercepted Edward V while the latter was travelling from Ludlow, where he had been living as Prince of Wales, to London to be crowned king. Edward V was placed in the royal residence of the Tower of London, ostensibly for his protection. Elizabeth Woodville fled with her younger son Richard and her daughters, taking sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. Gloucester asked Archbishop Bourchier to take Richard with him, so that the boy could reside in the Tower and keep his brother Edward company. Elizabeth Woodville, under duress, eventually agreed.
Two months later, on 22 June 1483, Edward IV's marriage was declared invalid. It was claimed that Edward IV had, at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, already been betrothed to Lady Eleanor Butler. Parliament issued a bill, Titulus Regius ("Royal Title"), in support of this position. This measure legally bastardised the children of Edward IV, made them ineligible for the succession, and declared Gloucester the rightful king, with the right of succession reverting to children of George, 1st Duke of Clarence, another late brother of Gloucester, who had been attainted in 1478. Gloucester ascended to the throne as Richard III on 6 July 1483, and Edward and Richard disappeared soon afterwards. Rumours began to spread that they had been murdered, and these appear to have been increasingly widely credited, even though some undoubtedly emanated from overseas.
Niece of the king
Elizabeth's mother made an alliance with Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, who had the closest claim to the throne among the Lancastrian party. Although Henry Tudor was descended from King Edward III, his claim to the throne was weak, owing to an Act of Parliament of the reign of Richard II in the 1390s, which barred accession to the throne to any heirs of the legitimised offspring of Henry's great-great-grandparents, John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Whether such an unprecedented act had force of law is disputed. Whatever the merits of Henry's claim, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed he should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to unite the two rival houses. In December 1483, in the cathedral of Rennes, Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion.
In 1484, Elizabeth of York and her sisters left Westminster Abbey and returned to court when Elizabeth Woodville was apparently reconciled with Richard III. This may or may not suggest that Elizabeth Woodville believed Richard III to be innocent of any possible role in the murder of her two sons. It was rumoured that Richard III intended to marry Elizabeth of York because his wife, Anne Neville, was dying and they had no surviving children. The Crowland Chronicle claimed that Richard III was forced to deny this unsavoury rumour. Soon after Anne Neville's death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal.
Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales on 7 August 1485 and marched inland. On 22 August, Henry Tudor and Richard III fought the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III had the larger army, but was betrayed by one of his most powerful retainers, William Stanley, and died in battle. Henry Tudor took the crown by right of conquest as Henry VII.
Wife of the king
Though initially slow to keep his promise, Henry VII acknowledged the necessity of marrying Elizabeth of York to ensure the stability of his rule and weaken the claims of other surviving members of the House of York. It seems Henry wished to be seen as ruling in his own right, having claimed the throne by right of conquest and not by his marriage to the de facto heiress of the House of York. He had no intention of sharing power.
Henry VII had the Act of Titulus Regius repealed, thereby legitimising anew the children of Edward IV, and acknowledging Edward V as his predecessor. Though Richard III was regarded as a usurper, his reign was not ignored. Henry and Elizabeth required a papal dispensation to wed because of Canon Law frowning upon 'affinity": Both were descended from John of Gaunt or his older brother Lionel in the 4th degree, an issue that had caused much dispute and bloodshed as to which claim was superior. Two applications were sent, the first more locally, and the second one was slow in reaching Rome and slow to return with the response of the Pope. Ultimately, however, the marriage was approved by papal bull of Pope Innocent VIII dated March 1486 (one month after the wedding) stating that the Pope and his advisors "approveth confirmyth and stablishyth the matrimonye and coniuncion made betwene our sou[er]ayn lord King Henre the seuenth of the house of Lancastre of that one party And the noble Princesse Elyzabeth of the house of Yorke."
Because the journey to Rome and back took many months, and because Henry as king wanted to be certain that nobody could claim that his wedding to Elizabeth was unlawful or sinful, the more local application was obeyed first—it was sent to the papal legate for England and Scotland, which returned in January 1486. Cardinal Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated at the wedding of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York on 18 January 1486 in Westminster Abbey. Their first son, Arthur, was born on 20 September 1486, eight months after their marriage. Elizabeth of York was crowned queen on 25 November 1487. She gave birth to several more children, but only four survived infancy: Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary.
Despite being a political arrangement at first, the marriage proved successful and both partners appear to have slowly fallen in love with each other. Thomas Penn, in his biography of Henry VII writes that "[t]hough founded on pragmatism, Henry and Elizabeth's marriage had nevertheless blossomed throughout the uncertainty and upheaval of the previous eighteen years. This was a marriage of 'faithful love', of mutual attraction, affection and respect, from which the king seems to have drawn great strength."
Relationship with Henry Tudor
Regardless of her husband's ultimate reputation as a miser and the much more recent styling as the Winter King in the early 21st century, Henry understood the importance of pageantry to the establishment of a new dynasty. He knew, in time, he had to open his wallet to impress foreign ambassadors as well, and thereby use "soft power" to impress the crowned heads of Spain and France and prove that he was not yet another English king that would be forced off the throne. He would have needed Elizabeth as a source of how to set up a court properly, as evidenced by the fact that when he wed his wife, he had not seen England since he was fourteen years old whereas Elizabeth had been a princess living at court all her life until her father's death and would have been brought up understanding how to run a royal court. It is here that her influence was most likely felt along with her mother-in-law.
As Henry's wife, and as Queen, Elizabeth's fate was heavily tied to the success of the new Tudor dynasty. The throne had been unstable since before the birth of either Elizabeth or her nine-years-older husband and there was no way to be certain the couple would succeed at ending a civil war that had lasted 32 years. One tactic involved marrying off Yorkists to Lancastrians. Elizabeth's own sisters, Cecily and Anne of York, and her cousin, Margaret Pole, were Yorkist brides married to Lancastrian men loyal to Henry. Similar tactics had been used before by Richard III of England, though in that case the Titulus Regius had marred the status of Elizabeth and all of her sisters as illegitimate bastards, and Richard had no intention of making it difficult for the two sides of the conflict to return to factionalism when two were married into one- his actions show he was more interested in loyalty and eliminating rival claims by wedding them off to the inconsequential. Richard did this directly to Elizabeth's sister, Cecily, by wedding her to Richard Scrope. Elizabeth, thus, had motive to want to see to the successful welfare of her female relatives, but by no means could she foresee if it would guarantee peace at last. Loyalty had failed horribly for Richard.
Further complicating things is that the public image of Henry Tudor that has been handed down through time only concurs with the last years of his reign. Where, when, and how he spent his money is easily traceable by surviving documents, some written by the king himself and many more having his signature "Henry R" to indicate his oversight of entries, both his personal and the realms's finances, documented in every detail down to the last crumb. Surviving in the British National Archives are letters written by Elizabeth of York and also a records of her privy purse, giving ample proof that the rumour regarding Henry's mistreatment of his wife is egregiously false. The truth is that Elizabeth was a very pious woman and one of her life passions was charity, one of the three theological virtues of the Catholic Church. She gave away money and alms in very large quantities, to the point she indebted herself on many occasions. She also gave generously to monks and religious orders. Much of the criticism regarding the reign of Elizabeth's husband derives from the sneers of the nobility of the age, understandably bitter about the recentralisation of power with the king in London, and the later viciously critical views of Francis Bacon, but evidence from the British National Archives along with more recent work in archaeology present a much different portrait where Elizabeth had a much more generous, kind, and doting husband in Henry Tudor in private. Behind the scenes, the evidence reveals a man who opened the purse strings for his children, mother, and wife generously and actually had a penchant for music, merrymaking, and dance on specific special occasions and in spite of many enemies made at the climax of the Wars of the Roses, there were still staunch supporters and friends of Henry, and that Elizabeth had won their trust.
The records state that Elsyng Palace was one of two nurseries for Henry and Elizabeth's children and they are both places where Elizabeth spent much of her time when not at court. Within a year of the Battle of Bosworth, a friend of Henry Tudor, Thomas Lovell, began expanding and improving upon the Elsyng property to make it fit for Elizabeth, her husband, and her children-to-be, completed by the time of the birth of Prince Henry with inner and outer courts and ample places to play for the royal children. This was largely done as a gift, but it was completed in the newer Renaissance style and in time was suitable enough for Henry and Elizabeth's grandchildren and proves it was a much loved refuge for the king and his wife.
Elizabeth received a grand coronation where she was carried on a royal barge down the Thames, and more recent evidence suggests that Henry VII was as much a builder as his son and granddaughter and that his wife shared that interest: it is known now that Elizabeth had a hand in designing the former Greenwich Palace and that the Palace itself was well appointed for large scale entertaining. Records are very clear that Christmas was a raucous and special time for the royal family on the whole, evidenced by many surviving documents depicting a particularly lively court having a marvelous time, with copious amounts of imported wine, great amounts of money spent upon roasted meats, and entertainers. Henry also frequently bought gifts for Elizabeth and their children. The account books kept by Henry himself are crystal clear that he spent a great deal of gold on expensive cloth for both himself, his wife and his children.
Elizabeth of York did not exercise much political influence as queen due to her strong-minded mother-in-law Lady Margaret Beaufort, but she was reported to be gentle, kind, and generous to her relations, servants, and benefactors. One report does state that Henry VII chose to appoint Elizabeth's choice for a vacant Bishopric over his mother's choice, showing Henry's affection for, and willingness to listen to, Elizabeth. She seems to have had a love of books, patronising the English printer William Caxton. Elizabeth of York enjoyed music, dancing, and gambling; the last of these was a pastime she shared with her husband. She also kept greyhounds.
As queen, Elizabeth made arrangements for the education of her younger children, including the future Henry VIII. She also accompanied her husband on his diplomatic visit to Calais in 1500 to meet with Philip I of Castile, and she corresponded with Queen Isabella I of Castile before their children's marriage.
On 14 November 1501, Elizabeth of York's 15-year-old son Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. The pair were sent to Ludlow Castle, the traditional residence of the Prince of Wales. Arthur died in April 1502. The news of Arthur's death caused Henry VII to break down in grief, as much in fear for his dynasty as in mourning for his son. Elizabeth comforted him, telling him that he was the only child of his mother but had survived to become king, that God had left him with a son and two daughters, and that they were both young enough to have more children. When she returned to her own chambers, however, Elizabeth herself broke down with grief. Her attendants sent for Henry who, in turn, comforted her.
Death and aftermath
In 1502, Elizabeth of York became pregnant once more and spent her confinement period in the Tower of London. On 2 February 1503, she gave birth to a daughter, Catherine, but the child died a few days afterwards. Succumbing to a post partum infection, Elizabeth of York died on 11 February, her 37th birthday. Her family seems to have been devastated by her death and mourned her deeply. According to one biographer, the death of Elizabeth "broke the heart" of her husband and "shattered him." Another account says that Henry Tudor "privily departed to a solitary place and would no man should resort unto him." This is notable considering that, shortly after Elizabeth's death, records show he became deathly ill himself and would not allow any except his mother Margaret Beaufort near him, including doctors. For Henry Tudor to show his emotions, let alone any sign of infirmity, was highly unusual and alarming to members of his court. Within a little over two years, King Henry VII lost his oldest son, his wife, his baby daughter, and found himself having to honour the Treaty of Perpetual Peace.
In 2012, the Vaux Passional, an illuminated manuscript that was once the property of Henry VII, was rediscovered in the National Library of Wales. It depicts the aftermath of Elizabeth's death vividly. Henry VII is shown receiving the book containing the manuscript in mourning robes with a doleful expression on his face. In the background, behind their father, are the late queen's daughters, Mary and Margaret, in black veils. The red head of 11-year-old Prince Henry is shown weeping into the sheets of his mother's empty bed.
Henry VII entertained thoughts of remarriage to renew the alliance with Spain—Joanna, Dowager Queen of Naples (daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples), Joanna, Queen of Castile (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella), and Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Savoy (sister-in-law of Joanna of Castile), were all considered —but he died a widower in 1509. The specifications that Henry gave to his ambassadors outlining what he wanted in a second wife described Elizabeth. On each anniversary of her death, he decreed that a requiem mass be sung, the bells be tolled, and 100 candles be lit in her honour. Henry also continued to employ her minstrels each New Year.
The Tower of London was abandoned as a royal residence, as evidenced by the lack of records of its being used by the royal family after 1503. Royal births in the reign of Elizabeth's son, Henry VIII, took place in various other palaces.
Henry VII's reputation for miserliness became worse after Elizabeth's death.
He was buried with Elizabeth of York under their effigies in his Westminster Abbey chapel. Her tomb was opened in the 19th century and the wood casing of her lead coffin was found to have been removed to create space for the interment of her great-great-grandson James VI and I.
Children
Arthur, Prince of Wales (20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502)
Margaret, Queen of Scotland (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541)
Henry VIII, King of England (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547)
Elizabeth (2 July 1492 – 14 September 1495), buried in St Edward's Chapel, Westminster Abbey
Mary, Queen of France (18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533)
Edmund (1499 – 19 June 1500), buried in Westminster Abbey
Catherine (born and died 1503), buried in Westminster Abbey
Appearance and legacy
According to folklore, the "queen ... in the parlour" in the children's nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is Elizabeth of York, while her husband is the king counting his money. The symbol of the Tudor dynasty is the Tudor rose, which became a royal symbol for England upon Elizabeth's marriage to Henry VII in 1486. Her White Rose of York is most commonly proper to her husband's Red Rose of Lancaster and today, uncrowned, is still the floral emblem of England.
Elizabeth of York was renowned as a great beauty for her time; with regular features, tall, and a fair complexion, inheriting many traits from her father and her mother Elizabeth Woodville, who was considered at one point the most beautiful woman in the British Isles. She inherited her father's propensity towards height as most women of her generation were considerably smaller than . All other Tudor monarchs inherited her reddish gold hair and the trait became synonymous with the dynasty.
Depiction in media
In 2013 she was portrayed by Freya Mavor in the BBC series The White Queen
In 2017 Elizabeth was portrayed by Jodie Comer in the BBC series The White Princess
Ancestry
References
Sources
External links
1466 births
1503 deaths
15th-century English women
16th-century English women
15th-century English people
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Deaths in childbirth
English princesses
English royal consorts
Henry VII of England
House of Tudor
House of York
Irish royal consorts
Ladies of the Garter
People from Westminster
English Roman Catholics
Children of Edward IV of England | false | [
"\"Never Say Die (Give a Little Bit More)\" is a song by Cliff Richard that was released in the UK in May 1983 as the lead single from Richard's 25th Anniversary 1983 album Silver. The song reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, and did better in Norway in reaching number 9 and in Sweden reaching number 13.\n\nThe song is written by Terry Britten and Sue Shifrin. Terry Britten is the songwriter who had written Richard's 1976 hit \"Devil Woman\" and 1980 hit \"Carrie\".\n\nChart performance\n\nReferences\n\n1983 songs\n1983 singles\nCliff Richard songs\nSongs written by Terry Britten\nEMI Records singles",
"Al DiSarro (1951-January 13, 2011) was a visual effects artist who was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Visual Effects during the 61st Academy Awards. He was nominated for the film Die Hard. The nomination was shared with Brent Boates, Richard Edlund and Thaine Morris.\n\nHe also did some special effects for the TV show The A-Team.\n\nSelected filmography\n\nAct of Valor (2012) (released posthumously)\nTransformers (2007)\nDéjà Vu (2006)\n2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)\nPaycheck (2003)\nRed Dragon (2002)\nThe Sum of All Fears (2002)\nSpeed 2: Cruise Control (1997)\nTurbulence (1997)\nCrimson Tide (1995)\nRicochet (1991)\nDie Hard 2 (1990)\nThe Hunt for the Red October (1990)\nDie Hard (1988)\nPredator (1987)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nSpecial effects people\n1951 births\n2011 deaths\nAcademy Awards winners and nominees"
]
|
[
"Elizabeth of York",
"Niece of the king",
"What was the name of the King to which Elizabeth was a niece?",
"Richard III,",
"When did Richard die?",
"22 August 1485,"
]
| C_bdda5598a0b8495fa8fed7044678e8e1_1 | Who took over after his death? | 3 | Who took over after King Richard's death? | Elizabeth of York | Elizabeth's mother made an alliance with Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, who had the closest claim to the throne of those in the Lancastrian party. Although Henry Tudor was descended from King Edward III, his claim to the throne was weak, due to an act of parliament passed during the reign of Richard II in the 1390s, that barred accession to the throne to any heirs of the legitimised offspring of Henry's great-great-grandparents, John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Despite this, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed Henry should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to unite the two rival houses. In December 1483, in the cathedral in Rennes, Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion. In 1484, Elizabeth of York and her sisters left Westminster Abbey and returned to court when Elizabeth Woodville was reconciled with Richard III, which may suggest that Elizabeth Woodville believed Richard III to be innocent of any possible role in the murder of her two sons (although this is unlikely owing to her involvement in Henry Tudor's failed invasion of October 1483). It was rumoured that Richard III intended to marry Elizabeth of York because his wife, Anne Neville, was dying and they had no surviving children. The Crowland Chronicle claimed that Richard III was forced to deny this unsavoury rumour. Soon after Anne Neville's death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal. On 7 August 1485, Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales and began marching inland. On 22 August 1485, Henry Tudor and Richard III fought the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III, despite having the larger army, was betrayed by one of his most powerful retainers, William Stanley, and died in battle. Henry Tudor took the crown by right of conquest as Henry VII. CANNOTANSWER | Henry Tudor | Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which marked the end of the Wars of the Roses. Together, they had seven children.
Elizabeth's younger brothers, the "Princes in the Tower", mysteriously disappeared shortly after the death of her father, King Edward IV. Although the 1484 act of Parliament Titulus Regius declared the marriage of her parents, Edward and Elizabeth Woodville, invalid, she and her sisters were subsequently welcomed back to court by Edward's brother, King Richard III. As a Yorkist princess, the final victory of the Lancastrian faction in the Wars of the Roses may have seemed a further disaster, but Henry Tudor knew the importance of Yorkist support for his invasion and promised to marry Elizabeth before he arrived in England. This may well have contributed to the haemorrhaging of Yorkist support for Richard.
Although Elizabeth seems to have played little part in politics, her marriage appears to have been a successful and happy one. Her eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales, died at age 15 in 1502, and three other children died young. Her second and only surviving son became King Henry VIII of England, while her daughters Margaret and Mary became queens of Scotland and of France, respectively.
Daughter of the king
Elizabeth of York was born at the Palace of Westminster as the eldest child of King Edward IV and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville. Her christening was celebrated at Westminster Abbey, sponsored by her grandmothers, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford; and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York. Her third sponsor was her cousin, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.
In 1469, aged three, she was briefly betrothed to George Neville, who was created the Duke of Bedford in anticipation of the marriage. His father John later supported George's uncle, the Earl of Warwick, in a rebellion against King Edward IV, and the betrothal was called off. In 1475, Louis XI agreed to the marriage of nine-year-old Elizabeth of York to his son Charles, the Dauphin of France. In 1482, however, Louis XI reneged on his promise. She was named a Lady of the Garter in 1477, at age eleven, along with her mother and her paternal aunt Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk.
Sister of the king
On 9 April 1483, Elizabeth's father, King Edward IV, unexpectedly died and her younger brother, Edward V, ascended to the throne; her uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed regent and protector of his nephews. Gloucester opted to take steps to isolate his nephews from their Woodville relations, including their own mother.
He intercepted Edward V while the latter was travelling from Ludlow, where he had been living as Prince of Wales, to London to be crowned king. Edward V was placed in the royal residence of the Tower of London, ostensibly for his protection. Elizabeth Woodville fled with her younger son Richard and her daughters, taking sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. Gloucester asked Archbishop Bourchier to take Richard with him, so that the boy could reside in the Tower and keep his brother Edward company. Elizabeth Woodville, under duress, eventually agreed.
Two months later, on 22 June 1483, Edward IV's marriage was declared invalid. It was claimed that Edward IV had, at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, already been betrothed to Lady Eleanor Butler. Parliament issued a bill, Titulus Regius ("Royal Title"), in support of this position. This measure legally bastardised the children of Edward IV, made them ineligible for the succession, and declared Gloucester the rightful king, with the right of succession reverting to children of George, 1st Duke of Clarence, another late brother of Gloucester, who had been attainted in 1478. Gloucester ascended to the throne as Richard III on 6 July 1483, and Edward and Richard disappeared soon afterwards. Rumours began to spread that they had been murdered, and these appear to have been increasingly widely credited, even though some undoubtedly emanated from overseas.
Niece of the king
Elizabeth's mother made an alliance with Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, who had the closest claim to the throne among the Lancastrian party. Although Henry Tudor was descended from King Edward III, his claim to the throne was weak, owing to an Act of Parliament of the reign of Richard II in the 1390s, which barred accession to the throne to any heirs of the legitimised offspring of Henry's great-great-grandparents, John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Whether such an unprecedented act had force of law is disputed. Whatever the merits of Henry's claim, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed he should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to unite the two rival houses. In December 1483, in the cathedral of Rennes, Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion.
In 1484, Elizabeth of York and her sisters left Westminster Abbey and returned to court when Elizabeth Woodville was apparently reconciled with Richard III. This may or may not suggest that Elizabeth Woodville believed Richard III to be innocent of any possible role in the murder of her two sons. It was rumoured that Richard III intended to marry Elizabeth of York because his wife, Anne Neville, was dying and they had no surviving children. The Crowland Chronicle claimed that Richard III was forced to deny this unsavoury rumour. Soon after Anne Neville's death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal.
Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales on 7 August 1485 and marched inland. On 22 August, Henry Tudor and Richard III fought the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III had the larger army, but was betrayed by one of his most powerful retainers, William Stanley, and died in battle. Henry Tudor took the crown by right of conquest as Henry VII.
Wife of the king
Though initially slow to keep his promise, Henry VII acknowledged the necessity of marrying Elizabeth of York to ensure the stability of his rule and weaken the claims of other surviving members of the House of York. It seems Henry wished to be seen as ruling in his own right, having claimed the throne by right of conquest and not by his marriage to the de facto heiress of the House of York. He had no intention of sharing power.
Henry VII had the Act of Titulus Regius repealed, thereby legitimising anew the children of Edward IV, and acknowledging Edward V as his predecessor. Though Richard III was regarded as a usurper, his reign was not ignored. Henry and Elizabeth required a papal dispensation to wed because of Canon Law frowning upon 'affinity": Both were descended from John of Gaunt or his older brother Lionel in the 4th degree, an issue that had caused much dispute and bloodshed as to which claim was superior. Two applications were sent, the first more locally, and the second one was slow in reaching Rome and slow to return with the response of the Pope. Ultimately, however, the marriage was approved by papal bull of Pope Innocent VIII dated March 1486 (one month after the wedding) stating that the Pope and his advisors "approveth confirmyth and stablishyth the matrimonye and coniuncion made betwene our sou[er]ayn lord King Henre the seuenth of the house of Lancastre of that one party And the noble Princesse Elyzabeth of the house of Yorke."
Because the journey to Rome and back took many months, and because Henry as king wanted to be certain that nobody could claim that his wedding to Elizabeth was unlawful or sinful, the more local application was obeyed first—it was sent to the papal legate for England and Scotland, which returned in January 1486. Cardinal Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated at the wedding of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York on 18 January 1486 in Westminster Abbey. Their first son, Arthur, was born on 20 September 1486, eight months after their marriage. Elizabeth of York was crowned queen on 25 November 1487. She gave birth to several more children, but only four survived infancy: Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary.
Despite being a political arrangement at first, the marriage proved successful and both partners appear to have slowly fallen in love with each other. Thomas Penn, in his biography of Henry VII writes that "[t]hough founded on pragmatism, Henry and Elizabeth's marriage had nevertheless blossomed throughout the uncertainty and upheaval of the previous eighteen years. This was a marriage of 'faithful love', of mutual attraction, affection and respect, from which the king seems to have drawn great strength."
Relationship with Henry Tudor
Regardless of her husband's ultimate reputation as a miser and the much more recent styling as the Winter King in the early 21st century, Henry understood the importance of pageantry to the establishment of a new dynasty. He knew, in time, he had to open his wallet to impress foreign ambassadors as well, and thereby use "soft power" to impress the crowned heads of Spain and France and prove that he was not yet another English king that would be forced off the throne. He would have needed Elizabeth as a source of how to set up a court properly, as evidenced by the fact that when he wed his wife, he had not seen England since he was fourteen years old whereas Elizabeth had been a princess living at court all her life until her father's death and would have been brought up understanding how to run a royal court. It is here that her influence was most likely felt along with her mother-in-law.
As Henry's wife, and as Queen, Elizabeth's fate was heavily tied to the success of the new Tudor dynasty. The throne had been unstable since before the birth of either Elizabeth or her nine-years-older husband and there was no way to be certain the couple would succeed at ending a civil war that had lasted 32 years. One tactic involved marrying off Yorkists to Lancastrians. Elizabeth's own sisters, Cecily and Anne of York, and her cousin, Margaret Pole, were Yorkist brides married to Lancastrian men loyal to Henry. Similar tactics had been used before by Richard III of England, though in that case the Titulus Regius had marred the status of Elizabeth and all of her sisters as illegitimate bastards, and Richard had no intention of making it difficult for the two sides of the conflict to return to factionalism when two were married into one- his actions show he was more interested in loyalty and eliminating rival claims by wedding them off to the inconsequential. Richard did this directly to Elizabeth's sister, Cecily, by wedding her to Richard Scrope. Elizabeth, thus, had motive to want to see to the successful welfare of her female relatives, but by no means could she foresee if it would guarantee peace at last. Loyalty had failed horribly for Richard.
Further complicating things is that the public image of Henry Tudor that has been handed down through time only concurs with the last years of his reign. Where, when, and how he spent his money is easily traceable by surviving documents, some written by the king himself and many more having his signature "Henry R" to indicate his oversight of entries, both his personal and the realms's finances, documented in every detail down to the last crumb. Surviving in the British National Archives are letters written by Elizabeth of York and also a records of her privy purse, giving ample proof that the rumour regarding Henry's mistreatment of his wife is egregiously false. The truth is that Elizabeth was a very pious woman and one of her life passions was charity, one of the three theological virtues of the Catholic Church. She gave away money and alms in very large quantities, to the point she indebted herself on many occasions. She also gave generously to monks and religious orders. Much of the criticism regarding the reign of Elizabeth's husband derives from the sneers of the nobility of the age, understandably bitter about the recentralisation of power with the king in London, and the later viciously critical views of Francis Bacon, but evidence from the British National Archives along with more recent work in archaeology present a much different portrait where Elizabeth had a much more generous, kind, and doting husband in Henry Tudor in private. Behind the scenes, the evidence reveals a man who opened the purse strings for his children, mother, and wife generously and actually had a penchant for music, merrymaking, and dance on specific special occasions and in spite of many enemies made at the climax of the Wars of the Roses, there were still staunch supporters and friends of Henry, and that Elizabeth had won their trust.
The records state that Elsyng Palace was one of two nurseries for Henry and Elizabeth's children and they are both places where Elizabeth spent much of her time when not at court. Within a year of the Battle of Bosworth, a friend of Henry Tudor, Thomas Lovell, began expanding and improving upon the Elsyng property to make it fit for Elizabeth, her husband, and her children-to-be, completed by the time of the birth of Prince Henry with inner and outer courts and ample places to play for the royal children. This was largely done as a gift, but it was completed in the newer Renaissance style and in time was suitable enough for Henry and Elizabeth's grandchildren and proves it was a much loved refuge for the king and his wife.
Elizabeth received a grand coronation where she was carried on a royal barge down the Thames, and more recent evidence suggests that Henry VII was as much a builder as his son and granddaughter and that his wife shared that interest: it is known now that Elizabeth had a hand in designing the former Greenwich Palace and that the Palace itself was well appointed for large scale entertaining. Records are very clear that Christmas was a raucous and special time for the royal family on the whole, evidenced by many surviving documents depicting a particularly lively court having a marvelous time, with copious amounts of imported wine, great amounts of money spent upon roasted meats, and entertainers. Henry also frequently bought gifts for Elizabeth and their children. The account books kept by Henry himself are crystal clear that he spent a great deal of gold on expensive cloth for both himself, his wife and his children.
Elizabeth of York did not exercise much political influence as queen due to her strong-minded mother-in-law Lady Margaret Beaufort, but she was reported to be gentle, kind, and generous to her relations, servants, and benefactors. One report does state that Henry VII chose to appoint Elizabeth's choice for a vacant Bishopric over his mother's choice, showing Henry's affection for, and willingness to listen to, Elizabeth. She seems to have had a love of books, patronising the English printer William Caxton. Elizabeth of York enjoyed music, dancing, and gambling; the last of these was a pastime she shared with her husband. She also kept greyhounds.
As queen, Elizabeth made arrangements for the education of her younger children, including the future Henry VIII. She also accompanied her husband on his diplomatic visit to Calais in 1500 to meet with Philip I of Castile, and she corresponded with Queen Isabella I of Castile before their children's marriage.
On 14 November 1501, Elizabeth of York's 15-year-old son Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. The pair were sent to Ludlow Castle, the traditional residence of the Prince of Wales. Arthur died in April 1502. The news of Arthur's death caused Henry VII to break down in grief, as much in fear for his dynasty as in mourning for his son. Elizabeth comforted him, telling him that he was the only child of his mother but had survived to become king, that God had left him with a son and two daughters, and that they were both young enough to have more children. When she returned to her own chambers, however, Elizabeth herself broke down with grief. Her attendants sent for Henry who, in turn, comforted her.
Death and aftermath
In 1502, Elizabeth of York became pregnant once more and spent her confinement period in the Tower of London. On 2 February 1503, she gave birth to a daughter, Catherine, but the child died a few days afterwards. Succumbing to a post partum infection, Elizabeth of York died on 11 February, her 37th birthday. Her family seems to have been devastated by her death and mourned her deeply. According to one biographer, the death of Elizabeth "broke the heart" of her husband and "shattered him." Another account says that Henry Tudor "privily departed to a solitary place and would no man should resort unto him." This is notable considering that, shortly after Elizabeth's death, records show he became deathly ill himself and would not allow any except his mother Margaret Beaufort near him, including doctors. For Henry Tudor to show his emotions, let alone any sign of infirmity, was highly unusual and alarming to members of his court. Within a little over two years, King Henry VII lost his oldest son, his wife, his baby daughter, and found himself having to honour the Treaty of Perpetual Peace.
In 2012, the Vaux Passional, an illuminated manuscript that was once the property of Henry VII, was rediscovered in the National Library of Wales. It depicts the aftermath of Elizabeth's death vividly. Henry VII is shown receiving the book containing the manuscript in mourning robes with a doleful expression on his face. In the background, behind their father, are the late queen's daughters, Mary and Margaret, in black veils. The red head of 11-year-old Prince Henry is shown weeping into the sheets of his mother's empty bed.
Henry VII entertained thoughts of remarriage to renew the alliance with Spain—Joanna, Dowager Queen of Naples (daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples), Joanna, Queen of Castile (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella), and Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Savoy (sister-in-law of Joanna of Castile), were all considered —but he died a widower in 1509. The specifications that Henry gave to his ambassadors outlining what he wanted in a second wife described Elizabeth. On each anniversary of her death, he decreed that a requiem mass be sung, the bells be tolled, and 100 candles be lit in her honour. Henry also continued to employ her minstrels each New Year.
The Tower of London was abandoned as a royal residence, as evidenced by the lack of records of its being used by the royal family after 1503. Royal births in the reign of Elizabeth's son, Henry VIII, took place in various other palaces.
Henry VII's reputation for miserliness became worse after Elizabeth's death.
He was buried with Elizabeth of York under their effigies in his Westminster Abbey chapel. Her tomb was opened in the 19th century and the wood casing of her lead coffin was found to have been removed to create space for the interment of her great-great-grandson James VI and I.
Children
Arthur, Prince of Wales (20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502)
Margaret, Queen of Scotland (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541)
Henry VIII, King of England (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547)
Elizabeth (2 July 1492 – 14 September 1495), buried in St Edward's Chapel, Westminster Abbey
Mary, Queen of France (18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533)
Edmund (1499 – 19 June 1500), buried in Westminster Abbey
Catherine (born and died 1503), buried in Westminster Abbey
Appearance and legacy
According to folklore, the "queen ... in the parlour" in the children's nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is Elizabeth of York, while her husband is the king counting his money. The symbol of the Tudor dynasty is the Tudor rose, which became a royal symbol for England upon Elizabeth's marriage to Henry VII in 1486. Her White Rose of York is most commonly proper to her husband's Red Rose of Lancaster and today, uncrowned, is still the floral emblem of England.
Elizabeth of York was renowned as a great beauty for her time; with regular features, tall, and a fair complexion, inheriting many traits from her father and her mother Elizabeth Woodville, who was considered at one point the most beautiful woman in the British Isles. She inherited her father's propensity towards height as most women of her generation were considerably smaller than . All other Tudor monarchs inherited her reddish gold hair and the trait became synonymous with the dynasty.
Depiction in media
In 2013 she was portrayed by Freya Mavor in the BBC series The White Queen
In 2017 Elizabeth was portrayed by Jodie Comer in the BBC series The White Princess
Ancestry
References
Sources
External links
1466 births
1503 deaths
15th-century English women
16th-century English women
15th-century English people
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Deaths in childbirth
English princesses
English royal consorts
Henry VII of England
House of Tudor
House of York
Irish royal consorts
Ladies of the Garter
People from Westminster
English Roman Catholics
Children of Edward IV of England | true | [
"Maria Ustonson was the daughter-in-law of Onesimus Ustonson, founder of the London-based fishing tackle maker, Ustonson. She was married to his third son, Charles Ustonson (1775-1822), who took over the business in 1815, but when he died in 1822, his widow Maria Ustonson took over.\n\nUnder Maria, Ustonson received a Royal Warrant from three successive monarchs starting with King George IV.\n\nIn 1830, she married the portrait painter William Armfield Hobday, and after his death in 1831, married Robert Joy in 1833.\n\nReferences\n\nEnglish businesspeople",
"King Ahlangene Cyprian Vulikhaya Sigcawu is the King of Xhosa people. He was born in 1970 in Nqadu Great Place in Willowvale by King Xolilizwe Sigcawu and Queen Nogaweni. He took over as the King in 2020 after the death of caretaker Xhosa King INkosi Nongudle Dumehleli Mapasa who took over following the death of King Zwelonke Sigcawu in 2019.\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nPeople from the Eastern Cape\n1970 births"
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|
[
"Elizabeth of York",
"Niece of the king",
"What was the name of the King to which Elizabeth was a niece?",
"Richard III,",
"When did Richard die?",
"22 August 1485,",
"Who took over after his death?",
"Henry Tudor"
]
| C_bdda5598a0b8495fa8fed7044678e8e1_1 | When did Henry take over? | 4 | When did Henry take over for King Richard? | Elizabeth of York | Elizabeth's mother made an alliance with Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, who had the closest claim to the throne of those in the Lancastrian party. Although Henry Tudor was descended from King Edward III, his claim to the throne was weak, due to an act of parliament passed during the reign of Richard II in the 1390s, that barred accession to the throne to any heirs of the legitimised offspring of Henry's great-great-grandparents, John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Despite this, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed Henry should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to unite the two rival houses. In December 1483, in the cathedral in Rennes, Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion. In 1484, Elizabeth of York and her sisters left Westminster Abbey and returned to court when Elizabeth Woodville was reconciled with Richard III, which may suggest that Elizabeth Woodville believed Richard III to be innocent of any possible role in the murder of her two sons (although this is unlikely owing to her involvement in Henry Tudor's failed invasion of October 1483). It was rumoured that Richard III intended to marry Elizabeth of York because his wife, Anne Neville, was dying and they had no surviving children. The Crowland Chronicle claimed that Richard III was forced to deny this unsavoury rumour. Soon after Anne Neville's death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal. On 7 August 1485, Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales and began marching inland. On 22 August 1485, Henry Tudor and Richard III fought the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III, despite having the larger army, was betrayed by one of his most powerful retainers, William Stanley, and died in battle. Henry Tudor took the crown by right of conquest as Henry VII. CANNOTANSWER | December 1483, | Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which marked the end of the Wars of the Roses. Together, they had seven children.
Elizabeth's younger brothers, the "Princes in the Tower", mysteriously disappeared shortly after the death of her father, King Edward IV. Although the 1484 act of Parliament Titulus Regius declared the marriage of her parents, Edward and Elizabeth Woodville, invalid, she and her sisters were subsequently welcomed back to court by Edward's brother, King Richard III. As a Yorkist princess, the final victory of the Lancastrian faction in the Wars of the Roses may have seemed a further disaster, but Henry Tudor knew the importance of Yorkist support for his invasion and promised to marry Elizabeth before he arrived in England. This may well have contributed to the haemorrhaging of Yorkist support for Richard.
Although Elizabeth seems to have played little part in politics, her marriage appears to have been a successful and happy one. Her eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales, died at age 15 in 1502, and three other children died young. Her second and only surviving son became King Henry VIII of England, while her daughters Margaret and Mary became queens of Scotland and of France, respectively.
Daughter of the king
Elizabeth of York was born at the Palace of Westminster as the eldest child of King Edward IV and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville. Her christening was celebrated at Westminster Abbey, sponsored by her grandmothers, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford; and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York. Her third sponsor was her cousin, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.
In 1469, aged three, she was briefly betrothed to George Neville, who was created the Duke of Bedford in anticipation of the marriage. His father John later supported George's uncle, the Earl of Warwick, in a rebellion against King Edward IV, and the betrothal was called off. In 1475, Louis XI agreed to the marriage of nine-year-old Elizabeth of York to his son Charles, the Dauphin of France. In 1482, however, Louis XI reneged on his promise. She was named a Lady of the Garter in 1477, at age eleven, along with her mother and her paternal aunt Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk.
Sister of the king
On 9 April 1483, Elizabeth's father, King Edward IV, unexpectedly died and her younger brother, Edward V, ascended to the throne; her uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was appointed regent and protector of his nephews. Gloucester opted to take steps to isolate his nephews from their Woodville relations, including their own mother.
He intercepted Edward V while the latter was travelling from Ludlow, where he had been living as Prince of Wales, to London to be crowned king. Edward V was placed in the royal residence of the Tower of London, ostensibly for his protection. Elizabeth Woodville fled with her younger son Richard and her daughters, taking sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. Gloucester asked Archbishop Bourchier to take Richard with him, so that the boy could reside in the Tower and keep his brother Edward company. Elizabeth Woodville, under duress, eventually agreed.
Two months later, on 22 June 1483, Edward IV's marriage was declared invalid. It was claimed that Edward IV had, at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, already been betrothed to Lady Eleanor Butler. Parliament issued a bill, Titulus Regius ("Royal Title"), in support of this position. This measure legally bastardised the children of Edward IV, made them ineligible for the succession, and declared Gloucester the rightful king, with the right of succession reverting to children of George, 1st Duke of Clarence, another late brother of Gloucester, who had been attainted in 1478. Gloucester ascended to the throne as Richard III on 6 July 1483, and Edward and Richard disappeared soon afterwards. Rumours began to spread that they had been murdered, and these appear to have been increasingly widely credited, even though some undoubtedly emanated from overseas.
Niece of the king
Elizabeth's mother made an alliance with Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII, who had the closest claim to the throne among the Lancastrian party. Although Henry Tudor was descended from King Edward III, his claim to the throne was weak, owing to an Act of Parliament of the reign of Richard II in the 1390s, which barred accession to the throne to any heirs of the legitimised offspring of Henry's great-great-grandparents, John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Whether such an unprecedented act had force of law is disputed. Whatever the merits of Henry's claim, his mother and Elizabeth Woodville agreed he should move to claim the throne and, once he had taken it, marry Elizabeth of York to unite the two rival houses. In December 1483, in the cathedral of Rennes, Henry Tudor swore an oath promising to marry her and began planning an invasion.
In 1484, Elizabeth of York and her sisters left Westminster Abbey and returned to court when Elizabeth Woodville was apparently reconciled with Richard III. This may or may not suggest that Elizabeth Woodville believed Richard III to be innocent of any possible role in the murder of her two sons. It was rumoured that Richard III intended to marry Elizabeth of York because his wife, Anne Neville, was dying and they had no surviving children. The Crowland Chronicle claimed that Richard III was forced to deny this unsavoury rumour. Soon after Anne Neville's death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal.
Henry Tudor and his army landed in Wales on 7 August 1485 and marched inland. On 22 August, Henry Tudor and Richard III fought the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III had the larger army, but was betrayed by one of his most powerful retainers, William Stanley, and died in battle. Henry Tudor took the crown by right of conquest as Henry VII.
Wife of the king
Though initially slow to keep his promise, Henry VII acknowledged the necessity of marrying Elizabeth of York to ensure the stability of his rule and weaken the claims of other surviving members of the House of York. It seems Henry wished to be seen as ruling in his own right, having claimed the throne by right of conquest and not by his marriage to the de facto heiress of the House of York. He had no intention of sharing power.
Henry VII had the Act of Titulus Regius repealed, thereby legitimising anew the children of Edward IV, and acknowledging Edward V as his predecessor. Though Richard III was regarded as a usurper, his reign was not ignored. Henry and Elizabeth required a papal dispensation to wed because of Canon Law frowning upon 'affinity": Both were descended from John of Gaunt or his older brother Lionel in the 4th degree, an issue that had caused much dispute and bloodshed as to which claim was superior. Two applications were sent, the first more locally, and the second one was slow in reaching Rome and slow to return with the response of the Pope. Ultimately, however, the marriage was approved by papal bull of Pope Innocent VIII dated March 1486 (one month after the wedding) stating that the Pope and his advisors "approveth confirmyth and stablishyth the matrimonye and coniuncion made betwene our sou[er]ayn lord King Henre the seuenth of the house of Lancastre of that one party And the noble Princesse Elyzabeth of the house of Yorke."
Because the journey to Rome and back took many months, and because Henry as king wanted to be certain that nobody could claim that his wedding to Elizabeth was unlawful or sinful, the more local application was obeyed first—it was sent to the papal legate for England and Scotland, which returned in January 1486. Cardinal Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated at the wedding of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York on 18 January 1486 in Westminster Abbey. Their first son, Arthur, was born on 20 September 1486, eight months after their marriage. Elizabeth of York was crowned queen on 25 November 1487. She gave birth to several more children, but only four survived infancy: Arthur, Margaret, Henry and Mary.
Despite being a political arrangement at first, the marriage proved successful and both partners appear to have slowly fallen in love with each other. Thomas Penn, in his biography of Henry VII writes that "[t]hough founded on pragmatism, Henry and Elizabeth's marriage had nevertheless blossomed throughout the uncertainty and upheaval of the previous eighteen years. This was a marriage of 'faithful love', of mutual attraction, affection and respect, from which the king seems to have drawn great strength."
Relationship with Henry Tudor
Regardless of her husband's ultimate reputation as a miser and the much more recent styling as the Winter King in the early 21st century, Henry understood the importance of pageantry to the establishment of a new dynasty. He knew, in time, he had to open his wallet to impress foreign ambassadors as well, and thereby use "soft power" to impress the crowned heads of Spain and France and prove that he was not yet another English king that would be forced off the throne. He would have needed Elizabeth as a source of how to set up a court properly, as evidenced by the fact that when he wed his wife, he had not seen England since he was fourteen years old whereas Elizabeth had been a princess living at court all her life until her father's death and would have been brought up understanding how to run a royal court. It is here that her influence was most likely felt along with her mother-in-law.
As Henry's wife, and as Queen, Elizabeth's fate was heavily tied to the success of the new Tudor dynasty. The throne had been unstable since before the birth of either Elizabeth or her nine-years-older husband and there was no way to be certain the couple would succeed at ending a civil war that had lasted 32 years. One tactic involved marrying off Yorkists to Lancastrians. Elizabeth's own sisters, Cecily and Anne of York, and her cousin, Margaret Pole, were Yorkist brides married to Lancastrian men loyal to Henry. Similar tactics had been used before by Richard III of England, though in that case the Titulus Regius had marred the status of Elizabeth and all of her sisters as illegitimate bastards, and Richard had no intention of making it difficult for the two sides of the conflict to return to factionalism when two were married into one- his actions show he was more interested in loyalty and eliminating rival claims by wedding them off to the inconsequential. Richard did this directly to Elizabeth's sister, Cecily, by wedding her to Richard Scrope. Elizabeth, thus, had motive to want to see to the successful welfare of her female relatives, but by no means could she foresee if it would guarantee peace at last. Loyalty had failed horribly for Richard.
Further complicating things is that the public image of Henry Tudor that has been handed down through time only concurs with the last years of his reign. Where, when, and how he spent his money is easily traceable by surviving documents, some written by the king himself and many more having his signature "Henry R" to indicate his oversight of entries, both his personal and the realms's finances, documented in every detail down to the last crumb. Surviving in the British National Archives are letters written by Elizabeth of York and also a records of her privy purse, giving ample proof that the rumour regarding Henry's mistreatment of his wife is egregiously false. The truth is that Elizabeth was a very pious woman and one of her life passions was charity, one of the three theological virtues of the Catholic Church. She gave away money and alms in very large quantities, to the point she indebted herself on many occasions. She also gave generously to monks and religious orders. Much of the criticism regarding the reign of Elizabeth's husband derives from the sneers of the nobility of the age, understandably bitter about the recentralisation of power with the king in London, and the later viciously critical views of Francis Bacon, but evidence from the British National Archives along with more recent work in archaeology present a much different portrait where Elizabeth had a much more generous, kind, and doting husband in Henry Tudor in private. Behind the scenes, the evidence reveals a man who opened the purse strings for his children, mother, and wife generously and actually had a penchant for music, merrymaking, and dance on specific special occasions and in spite of many enemies made at the climax of the Wars of the Roses, there were still staunch supporters and friends of Henry, and that Elizabeth had won their trust.
The records state that Elsyng Palace was one of two nurseries for Henry and Elizabeth's children and they are both places where Elizabeth spent much of her time when not at court. Within a year of the Battle of Bosworth, a friend of Henry Tudor, Thomas Lovell, began expanding and improving upon the Elsyng property to make it fit for Elizabeth, her husband, and her children-to-be, completed by the time of the birth of Prince Henry with inner and outer courts and ample places to play for the royal children. This was largely done as a gift, but it was completed in the newer Renaissance style and in time was suitable enough for Henry and Elizabeth's grandchildren and proves it was a much loved refuge for the king and his wife.
Elizabeth received a grand coronation where she was carried on a royal barge down the Thames, and more recent evidence suggests that Henry VII was as much a builder as his son and granddaughter and that his wife shared that interest: it is known now that Elizabeth had a hand in designing the former Greenwich Palace and that the Palace itself was well appointed for large scale entertaining. Records are very clear that Christmas was a raucous and special time for the royal family on the whole, evidenced by many surviving documents depicting a particularly lively court having a marvelous time, with copious amounts of imported wine, great amounts of money spent upon roasted meats, and entertainers. Henry also frequently bought gifts for Elizabeth and their children. The account books kept by Henry himself are crystal clear that he spent a great deal of gold on expensive cloth for both himself, his wife and his children.
Elizabeth of York did not exercise much political influence as queen due to her strong-minded mother-in-law Lady Margaret Beaufort, but she was reported to be gentle, kind, and generous to her relations, servants, and benefactors. One report does state that Henry VII chose to appoint Elizabeth's choice for a vacant Bishopric over his mother's choice, showing Henry's affection for, and willingness to listen to, Elizabeth. She seems to have had a love of books, patronising the English printer William Caxton. Elizabeth of York enjoyed music, dancing, and gambling; the last of these was a pastime she shared with her husband. She also kept greyhounds.
As queen, Elizabeth made arrangements for the education of her younger children, including the future Henry VIII. She also accompanied her husband on his diplomatic visit to Calais in 1500 to meet with Philip I of Castile, and she corresponded with Queen Isabella I of Castile before their children's marriage.
On 14 November 1501, Elizabeth of York's 15-year-old son Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. The pair were sent to Ludlow Castle, the traditional residence of the Prince of Wales. Arthur died in April 1502. The news of Arthur's death caused Henry VII to break down in grief, as much in fear for his dynasty as in mourning for his son. Elizabeth comforted him, telling him that he was the only child of his mother but had survived to become king, that God had left him with a son and two daughters, and that they were both young enough to have more children. When she returned to her own chambers, however, Elizabeth herself broke down with grief. Her attendants sent for Henry who, in turn, comforted her.
Death and aftermath
In 1502, Elizabeth of York became pregnant once more and spent her confinement period in the Tower of London. On 2 February 1503, she gave birth to a daughter, Catherine, but the child died a few days afterwards. Succumbing to a post partum infection, Elizabeth of York died on 11 February, her 37th birthday. Her family seems to have been devastated by her death and mourned her deeply. According to one biographer, the death of Elizabeth "broke the heart" of her husband and "shattered him." Another account says that Henry Tudor "privily departed to a solitary place and would no man should resort unto him." This is notable considering that, shortly after Elizabeth's death, records show he became deathly ill himself and would not allow any except his mother Margaret Beaufort near him, including doctors. For Henry Tudor to show his emotions, let alone any sign of infirmity, was highly unusual and alarming to members of his court. Within a little over two years, King Henry VII lost his oldest son, his wife, his baby daughter, and found himself having to honour the Treaty of Perpetual Peace.
In 2012, the Vaux Passional, an illuminated manuscript that was once the property of Henry VII, was rediscovered in the National Library of Wales. It depicts the aftermath of Elizabeth's death vividly. Henry VII is shown receiving the book containing the manuscript in mourning robes with a doleful expression on his face. In the background, behind their father, are the late queen's daughters, Mary and Margaret, in black veils. The red head of 11-year-old Prince Henry is shown weeping into the sheets of his mother's empty bed.
Henry VII entertained thoughts of remarriage to renew the alliance with Spain—Joanna, Dowager Queen of Naples (daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples), Joanna, Queen of Castile (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella), and Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Savoy (sister-in-law of Joanna of Castile), were all considered —but he died a widower in 1509. The specifications that Henry gave to his ambassadors outlining what he wanted in a second wife described Elizabeth. On each anniversary of her death, he decreed that a requiem mass be sung, the bells be tolled, and 100 candles be lit in her honour. Henry also continued to employ her minstrels each New Year.
The Tower of London was abandoned as a royal residence, as evidenced by the lack of records of its being used by the royal family after 1503. Royal births in the reign of Elizabeth's son, Henry VIII, took place in various other palaces.
Henry VII's reputation for miserliness became worse after Elizabeth's death.
He was buried with Elizabeth of York under their effigies in his Westminster Abbey chapel. Her tomb was opened in the 19th century and the wood casing of her lead coffin was found to have been removed to create space for the interment of her great-great-grandson James VI and I.
Children
Arthur, Prince of Wales (20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502)
Margaret, Queen of Scotland (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541)
Henry VIII, King of England (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547)
Elizabeth (2 July 1492 – 14 September 1495), buried in St Edward's Chapel, Westminster Abbey
Mary, Queen of France (18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533)
Edmund (1499 – 19 June 1500), buried in Westminster Abbey
Catherine (born and died 1503), buried in Westminster Abbey
Appearance and legacy
According to folklore, the "queen ... in the parlour" in the children's nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is Elizabeth of York, while her husband is the king counting his money. The symbol of the Tudor dynasty is the Tudor rose, which became a royal symbol for England upon Elizabeth's marriage to Henry VII in 1486. Her White Rose of York is most commonly proper to her husband's Red Rose of Lancaster and today, uncrowned, is still the floral emblem of England.
Elizabeth of York was renowned as a great beauty for her time; with regular features, tall, and a fair complexion, inheriting many traits from her father and her mother Elizabeth Woodville, who was considered at one point the most beautiful woman in the British Isles. She inherited her father's propensity towards height as most women of her generation were considerably smaller than . All other Tudor monarchs inherited her reddish gold hair and the trait became synonymous with the dynasty.
Depiction in media
In 2013 she was portrayed by Freya Mavor in the BBC series The White Queen
In 2017 Elizabeth was portrayed by Jodie Comer in the BBC series The White Princess
Ancestry
References
Sources
External links
1466 births
1503 deaths
15th-century English women
16th-century English women
15th-century English people
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Deaths in childbirth
English princesses
English royal consorts
Henry VII of England
House of Tudor
House of York
Irish royal consorts
Ladies of the Garter
People from Westminster
English Roman Catholics
Children of Edward IV of England | true | [
"Henry Wood (7 April 1872 – 1 December 1950) played first-class cricket for Somerset in 1904. He was born and he also died at Bath, Somerset.\n\nWood played for Somerset in a single first-class match against Gloucestershire at Bath, batting at No 10 and scoring four in the first innings and 12 in the second, both times being not out when the Somerset innings ended. He did not bowl in the match, and nor did he take any catches.\n\nReferences\n\n1872 births\n1950 deaths\nEnglish cricketers\nSomerset cricketers",
"Henry and the Paper Route is a book of Henry Huggins series that was written by Beverly Cleary and illustrated by Louis Darling. It was written in 1957 and focused on the main character Henry Huggins' attempts to get a paper route, despite his young age.\n\nPlot\nThe book opens with Henry's desiring to do \"something important.\" His older friend Scooter McCarthy rides by on his paper route, and he asks Henry if he knows of any boys who might be interested in delivering papers. Henry eagerly volunteers, but Scooter points out that all paper boys must be 11 years old. Henry is ten and a half, but Scooter still refuses.\n\nHenry decides to visit Mr. Capper, the manager of the local paper routes, and ask him for a job. On the way, he stops at a rummage sale and ends up buying some kittens. These cause him some embarrassment when he visits Mr. Capper, who tells him he's not old enough for a route. In an attempt to impress Mr. Capper and get the job, Henry decides to sell subscriptions to the newspaper. He offers the kittens as free gifts to new subscribers. This idea doesn't work out, and he gives the kittens to the local pet store. Henry ends up buying back one of the kittens - with his father's permission - and names it Nosy. Henry is worried how his dog Ribsy will react, but Ribsy actually takes to Nosy quite well.\n\nDuring the school's paper drive, Scooter asks Henry to take over his route for an afternoon. Henry uses Scooter's newspapers to advertise for the paper drive. Scooter, enraged at Henry's stewardship of his route, makes it into a competition. However, Henry, with his friends' help, wins the Paper Drive for the school. Unfortunately, it's a bit too successful for Henry's taste, and he vows not to advertise the following year.\n\nHenry soon turns eleven years old, and later discovers that Scooter has caught chicken pox. Scooter once again asks him to take over his route; as a result, he and Henry become good friends again. Henry then learns that one of the older boys will be giving up his route soon, and Henry hopes to take it over. In the meantime, he meets a new neighbor named Murph, whom he suspects is a genius.\n\nHenry is later dismayed to learn that he doesn't get to take over the older boy's route; it's been given to Murph instead. Eventually, though, Murph gives up the route because he doesn't know to handle Ramona Quimby, who is taking the papers off of each customer's lawn and throwing them onto random lawns because she too wants to be a \"paper boy\".\n\nMurphy lets Henry have the route, and at first Henry is worried that he might lose it because of Ramona's antics. He eventually outsmarts Ramona, though, and continues with his new route.\n\nSee also\n\nReferences\n\nNovels by Beverly Cleary\nNovels set in Portland, Oregon\n1957 American novels\n1957 children's books"
]
|
[
"Shaquille O'Neal",
"Miami Heat (2004-2008)"
]
| C_5d6902ae12f84f88bc10e0405af46e83_0 | When did Shaq go to the Miami Heat? | 1 | When did Shaquille O'Neal go to the Miami Heat? | Shaquille O'Neal | On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004-05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history. Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount. In the second game of the 2005-06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005-06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. CANNOTANSWER | On July 14, 2004, | Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a 7 ft 1 in and 325 lb center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007-2008 Season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season before retiring.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.
Early life
O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."
O'Neal came from a tall familyhis biological father stood and his mother was tall. By age 13, O'Neal was already tall. O'Neal credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.
After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to , and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.
College career
After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University (LSU). He had first met Tigers coach Dale Brown years earlier in Europe when O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
Rookie of the Year (1992–1993)
The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. In the summer before moving to Orlando, he spent time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal wore number 32 because Terry Catledge refused to relinquish the 33 jersey. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season, but missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."
First playoff appearance (1993–1994)
In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as the Pacers swept the Magic.
First scoring title and injury (1994–1996)
In O'Neal's third season, 1994–95, he led the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.
O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
First years in LA (1996–1999)
O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates teased him over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.
On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, the media announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."
The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.
With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.
Championship seasons (1999–2002)
In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired."
In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the LA Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game is the most recent game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer.
O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.
In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.
A month before the training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him.
In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.
Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work."
After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.
Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.
Toe surgery to departure (2002–2004)
O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. At the end of the season, the Lakers had fallen to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003.
For the 2003-04 season, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of two aging stars—forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton—but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either player nearly as much money as he could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant. The feud climaxed during training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Bryant, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized O'Neal for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the team.
The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004 and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding". After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki in return but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest, and eventually the two clubs agreed on a trade. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
Miami Heat (2004–2008)
First year in Miami (2004–2005)
On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (the Lakers used the draft choice to select Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. O'Neal made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.
Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal.
In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.
Fourth championship (2005–2006)
In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.
On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2–0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3–2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first-ever NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Heat were underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal's fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.
Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)
In the , O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "Benedict Arnold". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.
Career lows and disagreements (2007–2008)
O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.
O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points while starting all 28 games with the Suns.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9–37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008, against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."
In 28 regular season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, whom he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.
The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.
In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."
On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don't even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They're going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don't try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him. On February 25, 2010, O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play in time for the first round of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the second round. In September 2016, O'Neal said: "When I was in Cleveland, we were in first place. Big Baby [Glen Davis] breaks my hand and I had to sit out five weeks late in the year. I come back finally in the first round of the playoffs, and we lost to Boston in the second round. I was upset. I know for a fact if I was healthy, we would have gotten it done that year and won a ring." O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category during the 2009–10 season, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years.
Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment, nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.
O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.
On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short video on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.
National team career
While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led the Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Cup.
He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.
After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the 1999 FIBA AmeriCup squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.
Player profile
O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
At , and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents. On two occasions during his first season in the NBA, his powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports, prompting the league to increase the brace strength and stability of the backboards for the following 1993–94 season.
O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.
Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.
O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.
O'Neal only made one three-point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three-point-shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).
O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.
Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.
On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Off the court
Media personality
O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.
During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.
O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens". During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven-game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.
He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said many Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career.
During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.
O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.
O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in two sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."
Legal issues
In August 2010, O'Neal was sued by his personal IT technician, Shawn Darling, after O'Neal had allegedly attempted to plant child pornography on Darling's computer. Darling claimed that O'Neal had originally tried to protect himself by hacking his mistresses' voicemails and deleting relevant messages. Darling also alleged that O'Neal had used law enforcement contacts to obtain restricted information on those mistresses, and that O'Neal subsequently threw his laptop into a lake to destroy possible evidence.
In April 2014, O'Neal posted a photo on Instagram that showed himself mocking Jahmel Binion who suffers from Ectodermal dysplasia. O'Neal issued a public apology, stating that he and Binion had spoken and that he's "made a friend today". Binion would however go on to sue O'Neal for a sum larger than $25,000.
Education
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU, with a minor in political science. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.
In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".
O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.
Law enforcement
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.
In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.
In June 2008, the Bedford County, Virginia and Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff departments revoked O'Neal special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about Kobe Bryant and using racial slurs.
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.
Music career
Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.
O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.
Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.
O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU. Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.
In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.
On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Acting
Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in films that were panned by some critics.
O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.
O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boy for Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" and the video for Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men film series, but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.
He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (2002; episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (1997; episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (2014; episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie (2014). He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2.
Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.
O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.
Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.
O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.
O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.
O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.
On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.
In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We're even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We're specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."
Advertising
O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; Buick commercials; The General insurance commercials; Papa John's pizza commercials; Hulu commercials; Epson printer commercials; and IcyHot commercials, among others.
Mixed martial arts
O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Choi replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010, in an interview at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for four different promotions. His favorite wrestlers are Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, André the Giant, and Brock Lesnar.
In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.
In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first-ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Big Show and O'Neal had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which O'Neal accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. After weeks of discussion, the match was cancelled. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show later stated it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that caused the cancellation.
On the November 11, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill interrupted Cody Rhodes and teased the arrival of O'Neal in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He made a cameo appearance on Being The Elite and it was later confirmed that O'Neal had been appearing backstage at recent AEW tapings, including Full Gear. He appeared on the December 9 episode of AEW Dynamite and addressed AEW in a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone and Brandi Rhodes. At the end of the interview, O'Neal got water thrown on him by Brandi after telling her to get pointers from Cargill, who had broken Brandi's arm several weeks ago. On the March 3, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled The Crossroads, O'Neal teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. During the match, O'Neal paid tribute to Brodie Lee with his signature gesture and powerbomb and was driven through two tables by Cody, who hit O'Neal with a flying crossbody tackle as O'Neal was standing on the ring apron, knocking O'Neal through the tables that were set up at ringside.
Business ventures
O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.
In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.
O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.
In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings. In January 2022, O'Neal sold his stake in the Kings.
In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.
O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.
In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. O'Neal is also the global spokesperson for the company.
In 2018, O'Neal created his part music festival, circus and carnival, Shaq's Fun House, in partnership with Medium Rare, which is held annually. The event usually features celebrity DJ's and performers.
In early 2019 O'Neal joined the Papa John's board of directors and invested in nine stores in the Atlanta area. In addition, he became the spokesperson for the company as part of the three-year contract.
Personal life
O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
Marriage
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple has four children: Shareef (b. January 11, 2000), Amirah (b. November 13, 2001), Shaqir (b. April 19, 2003), and Me'arah (b. May 1, 2006). Nelson also has one son from a previous relationship, Myles. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. Shareef, later rated as a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, had committed to play college basketball at the University of Arizona, but rescinded the commitment in February 2018 after Arizona head coach Sean Miller was linked to potential major violations of NCAA recruiting rules.
Other relationships
O'Neal has a daughter named Taahirah O'Neal (b. July 19, 1996) from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts and later split in August 2012.
O'Neal began dating Laticia Rolle, a model, originally from Gardner, Massachusetts in early 2014. They later split in March 2018.
Outside of basketball
In June 2005 when Hall of Fame center George Mikan died, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.
O'Neal is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Prince Hall Freemason.
On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014, O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.
O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement. He participated in a virtual rally for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and voted for the first time during the 2020 presidential election.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 37.9 || .562 || .000 || .592 || 13.9 || 1.9 || .7 || 3.5 || 23.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 39.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .599* || .000 || .554 || 13.2 || 2.4 || .9 || 2.9 || 29.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 79 || 79 || 37.0 || .583 || .000 || .533 || 11.4 || 2.7 || .9 || 2.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.3*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 54 || 52 || 36.0 || .573 || .500 || .487 || 11.0 || 2.9 || .6 || 2.1 || 26.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 51 || 51 || 38.1 || .557 || .000 || .484 || 12.5 || 3.1 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 60 || 57 || 36.3 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .527 || 11.4 || 2.4 || .7 || 2.4 || 28.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 49 || 49 || 34.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .576* || .000 || .540 || 10.7 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 26.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 79 || 79 || 40.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .574* || .000 || .524 || 13.6 || 3.8 || .5 || 3.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.7*
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 74 || 74 || 39.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .572* || .000 || .513 || 12.7 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 28.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 36.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .579* || .000 || .555 || 10.7 || 3.0 || .6 || 2.0 || 27.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 37.8 || .574 || .000 || .622 || 11.1 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 27.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 67 || 36.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .490 || 11.5 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.5 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 73 || 73 || 34.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .601* || .000 || .461 || 10.4 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.3 || 22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 59 || 58 || 30.6 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .600* || .000 || .469 || 9.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.8 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 40 || 39 || 28.4 || .591 || .000 || .422 || 7.4 || 2.0 || .2 || 1.4 || 17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 33 || 33 || 28.6 || .581 || .000 || .494 || 7.8 || 1.4 || .6 || 1.6 || 14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 28 || 28 || 28.7 || .611 || .000 || .513 || 10.6 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.2 || 12.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 75 || 75 || 30.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .609* || .000 || .595 || 8.4 || 1.7 || .6 || 1.4 || 17.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 53 || 53 || 23.4 || .566 || .000 || .496 || 6.7 || 1.5 || .3 || 1.2 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 37 || 36 || 20.3 || .667 || .000 || .557 || 4.8 || .7 || .4 || 1.1 || 9.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,207 || 1,197 || 34.7 || .582 || .045 || .527 || 10.9 || 2.5 || .6 || 2.3 || 23.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 12 || 9 || 22.8 || .551 || .000 || .452 || 8.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 16.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .511 || .000 || .471 || 13.3 || 2.3 || .7 || 3.0 || 20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 21 || 21 || 38.3 || .577 || .000 || .571 || 11.9 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.9 || 25.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 12 || 12 || 38.3 || .606 || .000 || .393 || 10.0 || 4.6 || .8 || 1.3 || 25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 9 || 9 || 36.2 || .514 || .000 || .610 || 10.6 || 3.2 || .6 || 1.9 || 26.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 13 || 13 || 38.5 || .612 || .000 || .503 || 10.2 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.6 || 30.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .510 || .000 || .466 || 11.6 || 2.3 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2000†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 23 || 23 || 43.5 || .566 || .000 || .456 || 15.4 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 30.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 16 || 16 || 42.3 || .555 || .000 || .525 || 15.4 || 3.2 || .4 || 2.4 || 30.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 19 || 19 || 40.8 || .529 || .000 || .649 || 12.6 || 2.8 || .5 || 2.5 || 28.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 12 || 12 || 40.1 || .535 || .000 || .621 || 14.8 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 27.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 22 || 22 || 41.7 || .593 || .000 || .429 || 13.2 || 2.5 || .3 || 2.8 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 13 || 13 || 33.2 || .558 || .000 || .472 || 7.8 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.5 || 19.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006†
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 23 || 23 || 33.0 || .612 || .000 || .374 || 9.8 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.5 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 4 || 4 || 30.3 || .559 || .000 || .333 || 8.5 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.5 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 5 || 5 || 30.0 || .440 || .000 || .500 || 9.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.6 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 11 || 11 || 22.1 || .516 || .000 || .660 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 1.2 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 216 || 214 || 37.5 || .563 || .000 || .504 || 11.6 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 24.3
Discography
Studio albums
Shaq Diesel (1993)
Shaq Fu: Da Return (1994)
You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
Respect (1998)
Unreleased albums
Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001)
Filmography
Television credits
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Shaq Attaq! (1994)
A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
Shaq Talks Back (2002)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
See also
List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
Highest-paid NBA players by season
Shaq–Kobe feud
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
List of NCAA Division I basketball players with 5 or more career triple-doubles
List of Freemasons
References
External links
Shaquille O'Neal at Louisiana State
1972 births
Living people
1994 FIBA World Championship players
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
A&M Records artists
African-American basketball players
African-American businesspeople
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male professional wrestlers
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
African-American sports journalists
African-American television personalities
All-American college men's basketball players
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American Freemasons
American investors
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male rappers
American men podcasters
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
American podcasters
American Prince Hall Freemasons
American real estate businesspeople
American stock traders
Barry University alumni
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey
Basketball players from San Antonio
Boston Celtics players
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Texas
Businesspeople in technology
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
East Coast hip hop musicians
Esports team owners
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA World Championship-winning players
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
Los Angeles Lakers players
LSU Tigers basketball players
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Male actors from San Antonio
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Miami Heat players
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
Musicians from San Antonio
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
New York Film Academy alumni
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Participants in American reality television series
Phoenix Suns players
Professional wrestlers from New Jersey
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Rappers from New Jersey
Rappers from Newark, New Jersey
Rappers from San Antonio
Sacramento Kings owners
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
United States men's national basketball team players
University of Phoenix alumni | true | [
"Shaquille is a 2005 series on ESPN featuring NBA center Shaquille O'Neal. The television show ran six episodes, running before each game of the 2005 Western Conference Finals and before Game One of the NBA Finals. The show ran about 30 minutes.\n \nThe television show followed O'Neal on and off the court. He discussed his thoughts on former teammate Kobe Bryant, his determination on winning an NBA championship with his first season on the Miami Heat, and more.\n\nThe ratings of the mini-series were so high that a DVD of the original six episodes was released on January 31, 2006, titled Shaq TV: The Reality Series.\n\nEpisodes\n Shaq settles into his new life in Miami and sets out to win an NBA championship with his new team. The team’s first road trip is chronicled and includes an exclusive interview with Shaq regarding his career, relationship with the Rockets, and former teammate Kobe Bryant. Shaq returns to Los Angeles for a Christmas Day showdown with his former team and a special family night with his wife and kids.\n Shaq and the Miami Heat head out on a West Coast road trip. Shaq meets with Nike representatives and gets a sneak peek at his latest line of footwear and visits with a special friend who is battling cancer. Shaq also gives a rare and revealing look at his life on the road and spends a day off in Phoenix and visits old friends at his favorite barbershop. The show also goes behind the scenes of a big-budget commercial starring Shaq and ride along with him as he serves as the Grand Marshal of the City of Miami Beach Parade. Shaq also films another commercial that provides a great deal of comic relief.\n Shaq returns once again to Los Angeles. This time he has some fun-time with his kids and visits old friends at his favorite barbershop. We also go behind the scenes of a big budget commercial starring Shaq and ride along with him as he serves as the grand marshal of a City of Miami Beach Parade. Shaq also films another commercial that provides a great deal of comic relief.\n As the Miami Heat and Shaq continue their push towards a championship, Shaq gets a little down time at home with his wife and kids. Shaq goes up against Yao Ming, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki and helps push the Heat to the best record in their division. Exclusive access to team practices gives a revealing inside look at the passion and power of Shaquille O'Neal.\n Shaq and the Heat square off against the powerhouse Spurs and he goes head to head with All-Star Tim Duncan. Shaq’s wife and kids create a Valentine’s Day surprise for him, and he gives viewers a unique look into the business side of his career. Shaq also spends a romantic night out with his wife and has some fun getting razzed by his teammates during a free-throw competition in practice.\n Shaq packs up and heads to Denver for his 12th NBA All-Star appearance. Viewers get an all-access pass to this star-studded event as Shaq spends four days in the mile-high city practicing with the league's elite players, putting on charity events and entertaining the fans as well as the media. Shaq returns home and continues his dedicated quest to bring the championship to Miami.\n\nExternal links\n\nShaqTV on DVD \n\nESPN original programming\nBasketball in the United States\n2000s American reality television series\n2005 American television series debuts\n2005 American television series endings\nShaquille O'Neal",
"\"That's How I Beat Shaq\" is a single from Aaron Carter's second album, Aaron's Party (Come Get It). Released on February 6, 2001, the single was released with the permission of Shaquille O'Neal. The song was used in the trailer for Hey Arnold!: The Movie.\n\nMusic video\n\nThe video begins with Aaron riding a scooter with a dog playing Frisbee, followed by various scenes of Aaron playing basketball. It then shifts to him telling the story of how he met Shaquille O'Neal, who challenges him to a one-on-one basketball game. In the second verse, Aaron plans to distract Shaq in order to score points. Aaron finally emerges victorious, but it turns out that everything was a dream when Aaron hears his mother's voice. He is shocked, however, when he sees the jersey of Shaquille O'Neal. Throughout the video, Aaron is seen rapping in the basketball court and in the hoop.\n\nRematch\nOn the March 7, 2013 episode of Upload with Shaquille O'Neal, Shaq challenged Aaron Carter to a rematch after 12 years since the song. Shaq makes a deal that if Aaron Carter scores a single hoop against Shaq, the ex-Laker will donate $5,000 to the charity of Aaron's choice; Aaron replies that he is playing for The Aaron Carter Needs a Jet Ski Foundation. The game starts with the two staring each other down. Shaq steals the ball from Aaron and proceeds to score over 20 points, while Aaron can't make a single hoop. During the break, Shaq is seen eating nachos and offers some to Aaron, but then smacks them to the ground before Aaron can take any. The game continues with Aaron unable to score a single hoop. It then cuts back to the two staring and Aaron attempting again to score a single hoop with Shaq successfully preventing him. Aaron then reveals that the music video was only a joke which Shaq eventually understands in a somewhat sarcastic manner.\n\nTrack listing\nSingle – Aaron Carter – \"That's How I Beat Shaq\" (2001, CD)\n\"That's How I Beat Shaq\" – 3:24\n\"One for the Summer\" – 3:44\n\nCharts\n\nIn popular culture\n\"That's How I Beat Shaq\" was used in the trailer for Hey Arnold!: The Movie.\n\nThe comic strip xkcd's \"Future Archaeology\" imagines a time traveler visiting today from a future where only two texts from our era survive. One is the story of Noah and \"The other is an account of how a man named Aaron Carter defeated a god named Shaq,\" a reference to this song.\n\nIn The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny Shaquille O'Neil \"opened up a can of Shaq Fu, until Aaron Carter came out of the blue.\"\n\nThe Lonely Island song, \"Rocky,\" from the album Turtleneck & Chain is a parody of this song, imitating the style with a story about an underdog boxer who fights fictional boxer Rocky Balboa and loses. This song is referenced in the first line: \"Here's a little story that I think you'll like / It's not about Shaq or Iron Mike.\"\n\nThe Neil Cicierega song \"Aaron\" is a minor key remix of this song.\n\nReferences\n\n2000 songs\n2001 singles\nAaron Carter songs\nComedy rap songs\nJive Records singles\nShaquille O'Neal\nSongs written by Brian Kierulf\nSongs written by Josh Schwartz\nSongs about basketball players\nCultural depictions of basketball players"
]
|
[
"Shaquille O'Neal",
"Miami Heat (2004-2008)",
"When did Shaq go to the Miami Heat?",
"On July 14, 2004,"
]
| C_5d6902ae12f84f88bc10e0405af46e83_0 | How many games did he play with the Heat? | 2 | How many games did Shaquille O'Neal play with the Heat? | Shaquille O'Neal | On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004-05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history. Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount. In the second game of the 2005-06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005-06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. CANNOTANSWER | He played in 73 games, | Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a 7 ft 1 in and 325 lb center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007-2008 Season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season before retiring.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.
Early life
O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."
O'Neal came from a tall familyhis biological father stood and his mother was tall. By age 13, O'Neal was already tall. O'Neal credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.
After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to , and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.
College career
After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University (LSU). He had first met Tigers coach Dale Brown years earlier in Europe when O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
Rookie of the Year (1992–1993)
The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. In the summer before moving to Orlando, he spent time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal wore number 32 because Terry Catledge refused to relinquish the 33 jersey. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season, but missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."
First playoff appearance (1993–1994)
In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as the Pacers swept the Magic.
First scoring title and injury (1994–1996)
In O'Neal's third season, 1994–95, he led the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.
O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
First years in LA (1996–1999)
O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates teased him over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.
On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, the media announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."
The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.
With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.
Championship seasons (1999–2002)
In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired."
In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the LA Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game is the most recent game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer.
O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.
In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.
A month before the training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him.
In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.
Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work."
After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.
Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.
Toe surgery to departure (2002–2004)
O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. At the end of the season, the Lakers had fallen to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003.
For the 2003-04 season, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of two aging stars—forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton—but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either player nearly as much money as he could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant. The feud climaxed during training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Bryant, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized O'Neal for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the team.
The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004 and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding". After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki in return but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest, and eventually the two clubs agreed on a trade. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
Miami Heat (2004–2008)
First year in Miami (2004–2005)
On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (the Lakers used the draft choice to select Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. O'Neal made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.
Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal.
In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.
Fourth championship (2005–2006)
In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.
On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2–0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3–2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first-ever NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Heat were underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal's fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.
Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)
In the , O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "Benedict Arnold". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.
Career lows and disagreements (2007–2008)
O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.
O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points while starting all 28 games with the Suns.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9–37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008, against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."
In 28 regular season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, whom he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.
The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.
In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."
On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don't even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They're going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don't try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him. On February 25, 2010, O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play in time for the first round of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the second round. In September 2016, O'Neal said: "When I was in Cleveland, we were in first place. Big Baby [Glen Davis] breaks my hand and I had to sit out five weeks late in the year. I come back finally in the first round of the playoffs, and we lost to Boston in the second round. I was upset. I know for a fact if I was healthy, we would have gotten it done that year and won a ring." O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category during the 2009–10 season, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years.
Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment, nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.
O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.
On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short video on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.
National team career
While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led the Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Cup.
He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.
After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the 1999 FIBA AmeriCup squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.
Player profile
O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
At , and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents. On two occasions during his first season in the NBA, his powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports, prompting the league to increase the brace strength and stability of the backboards for the following 1993–94 season.
O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.
Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.
O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.
O'Neal only made one three-point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three-point-shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).
O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.
Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.
On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Off the court
Media personality
O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.
During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.
O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens". During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven-game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.
He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said many Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career.
During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.
O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.
O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in two sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."
Legal issues
In August 2010, O'Neal was sued by his personal IT technician, Shawn Darling, after O'Neal had allegedly attempted to plant child pornography on Darling's computer. Darling claimed that O'Neal had originally tried to protect himself by hacking his mistresses' voicemails and deleting relevant messages. Darling also alleged that O'Neal had used law enforcement contacts to obtain restricted information on those mistresses, and that O'Neal subsequently threw his laptop into a lake to destroy possible evidence.
In April 2014, O'Neal posted a photo on Instagram that showed himself mocking Jahmel Binion who suffers from Ectodermal dysplasia. O'Neal issued a public apology, stating that he and Binion had spoken and that he's "made a friend today". Binion would however go on to sue O'Neal for a sum larger than $25,000.
Education
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU, with a minor in political science. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.
In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".
O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.
Law enforcement
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.
In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.
In June 2008, the Bedford County, Virginia and Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff departments revoked O'Neal special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about Kobe Bryant and using racial slurs.
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.
Music career
Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.
O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.
Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.
O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU. Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.
In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.
On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Acting
Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in films that were panned by some critics.
O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.
O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boy for Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" and the video for Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men film series, but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.
He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (2002; episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (1997; episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (2014; episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie (2014). He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2.
Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.
O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.
Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.
O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.
O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.
O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.
On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.
In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We're even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We're specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."
Advertising
O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; Buick commercials; The General insurance commercials; Papa John's pizza commercials; Hulu commercials; Epson printer commercials; and IcyHot commercials, among others.
Mixed martial arts
O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Choi replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010, in an interview at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for four different promotions. His favorite wrestlers are Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, André the Giant, and Brock Lesnar.
In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.
In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first-ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Big Show and O'Neal had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which O'Neal accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. After weeks of discussion, the match was cancelled. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show later stated it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that caused the cancellation.
On the November 11, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill interrupted Cody Rhodes and teased the arrival of O'Neal in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He made a cameo appearance on Being The Elite and it was later confirmed that O'Neal had been appearing backstage at recent AEW tapings, including Full Gear. He appeared on the December 9 episode of AEW Dynamite and addressed AEW in a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone and Brandi Rhodes. At the end of the interview, O'Neal got water thrown on him by Brandi after telling her to get pointers from Cargill, who had broken Brandi's arm several weeks ago. On the March 3, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled The Crossroads, O'Neal teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. During the match, O'Neal paid tribute to Brodie Lee with his signature gesture and powerbomb and was driven through two tables by Cody, who hit O'Neal with a flying crossbody tackle as O'Neal was standing on the ring apron, knocking O'Neal through the tables that were set up at ringside.
Business ventures
O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.
In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.
O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.
In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings. In January 2022, O'Neal sold his stake in the Kings.
In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.
O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.
In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. O'Neal is also the global spokesperson for the company.
In 2018, O'Neal created his part music festival, circus and carnival, Shaq's Fun House, in partnership with Medium Rare, which is held annually. The event usually features celebrity DJ's and performers.
In early 2019 O'Neal joined the Papa John's board of directors and invested in nine stores in the Atlanta area. In addition, he became the spokesperson for the company as part of the three-year contract.
Personal life
O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
Marriage
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple has four children: Shareef (b. January 11, 2000), Amirah (b. November 13, 2001), Shaqir (b. April 19, 2003), and Me'arah (b. May 1, 2006). Nelson also has one son from a previous relationship, Myles. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. Shareef, later rated as a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, had committed to play college basketball at the University of Arizona, but rescinded the commitment in February 2018 after Arizona head coach Sean Miller was linked to potential major violations of NCAA recruiting rules.
Other relationships
O'Neal has a daughter named Taahirah O'Neal (b. July 19, 1996) from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts and later split in August 2012.
O'Neal began dating Laticia Rolle, a model, originally from Gardner, Massachusetts in early 2014. They later split in March 2018.
Outside of basketball
In June 2005 when Hall of Fame center George Mikan died, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.
O'Neal is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Prince Hall Freemason.
On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014, O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.
O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement. He participated in a virtual rally for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and voted for the first time during the 2020 presidential election.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 37.9 || .562 || .000 || .592 || 13.9 || 1.9 || .7 || 3.5 || 23.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 39.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .599* || .000 || .554 || 13.2 || 2.4 || .9 || 2.9 || 29.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 79 || 79 || 37.0 || .583 || .000 || .533 || 11.4 || 2.7 || .9 || 2.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.3*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 54 || 52 || 36.0 || .573 || .500 || .487 || 11.0 || 2.9 || .6 || 2.1 || 26.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 51 || 51 || 38.1 || .557 || .000 || .484 || 12.5 || 3.1 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 60 || 57 || 36.3 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .527 || 11.4 || 2.4 || .7 || 2.4 || 28.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 49 || 49 || 34.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .576* || .000 || .540 || 10.7 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 26.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 79 || 79 || 40.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .574* || .000 || .524 || 13.6 || 3.8 || .5 || 3.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.7*
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 74 || 74 || 39.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .572* || .000 || .513 || 12.7 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 28.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 36.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .579* || .000 || .555 || 10.7 || 3.0 || .6 || 2.0 || 27.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 37.8 || .574 || .000 || .622 || 11.1 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 27.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 67 || 36.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .490 || 11.5 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.5 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 73 || 73 || 34.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .601* || .000 || .461 || 10.4 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.3 || 22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 59 || 58 || 30.6 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .600* || .000 || .469 || 9.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.8 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 40 || 39 || 28.4 || .591 || .000 || .422 || 7.4 || 2.0 || .2 || 1.4 || 17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 33 || 33 || 28.6 || .581 || .000 || .494 || 7.8 || 1.4 || .6 || 1.6 || 14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 28 || 28 || 28.7 || .611 || .000 || .513 || 10.6 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.2 || 12.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 75 || 75 || 30.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .609* || .000 || .595 || 8.4 || 1.7 || .6 || 1.4 || 17.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 53 || 53 || 23.4 || .566 || .000 || .496 || 6.7 || 1.5 || .3 || 1.2 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 37 || 36 || 20.3 || .667 || .000 || .557 || 4.8 || .7 || .4 || 1.1 || 9.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,207 || 1,197 || 34.7 || .582 || .045 || .527 || 10.9 || 2.5 || .6 || 2.3 || 23.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 12 || 9 || 22.8 || .551 || .000 || .452 || 8.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 16.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .511 || .000 || .471 || 13.3 || 2.3 || .7 || 3.0 || 20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 21 || 21 || 38.3 || .577 || .000 || .571 || 11.9 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.9 || 25.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 12 || 12 || 38.3 || .606 || .000 || .393 || 10.0 || 4.6 || .8 || 1.3 || 25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 9 || 9 || 36.2 || .514 || .000 || .610 || 10.6 || 3.2 || .6 || 1.9 || 26.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 13 || 13 || 38.5 || .612 || .000 || .503 || 10.2 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.6 || 30.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .510 || .000 || .466 || 11.6 || 2.3 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2000†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 23 || 23 || 43.5 || .566 || .000 || .456 || 15.4 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 30.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 16 || 16 || 42.3 || .555 || .000 || .525 || 15.4 || 3.2 || .4 || 2.4 || 30.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 19 || 19 || 40.8 || .529 || .000 || .649 || 12.6 || 2.8 || .5 || 2.5 || 28.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 12 || 12 || 40.1 || .535 || .000 || .621 || 14.8 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 27.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 22 || 22 || 41.7 || .593 || .000 || .429 || 13.2 || 2.5 || .3 || 2.8 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 13 || 13 || 33.2 || .558 || .000 || .472 || 7.8 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.5 || 19.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006†
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 23 || 23 || 33.0 || .612 || .000 || .374 || 9.8 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.5 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 4 || 4 || 30.3 || .559 || .000 || .333 || 8.5 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.5 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 5 || 5 || 30.0 || .440 || .000 || .500 || 9.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.6 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 11 || 11 || 22.1 || .516 || .000 || .660 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 1.2 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 216 || 214 || 37.5 || .563 || .000 || .504 || 11.6 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 24.3
Discography
Studio albums
Shaq Diesel (1993)
Shaq Fu: Da Return (1994)
You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
Respect (1998)
Unreleased albums
Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001)
Filmography
Television credits
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Shaq Attaq! (1994)
A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
Shaq Talks Back (2002)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
See also
List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
Highest-paid NBA players by season
Shaq–Kobe feud
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
List of NCAA Division I basketball players with 5 or more career triple-doubles
List of Freemasons
References
External links
Shaquille O'Neal at Louisiana State
1972 births
Living people
1994 FIBA World Championship players
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
A&M Records artists
African-American basketball players
African-American businesspeople
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male professional wrestlers
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
African-American sports journalists
African-American television personalities
All-American college men's basketball players
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American Freemasons
American investors
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male rappers
American men podcasters
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
American podcasters
American Prince Hall Freemasons
American real estate businesspeople
American stock traders
Barry University alumni
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey
Basketball players from San Antonio
Boston Celtics players
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Texas
Businesspeople in technology
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
East Coast hip hop musicians
Esports team owners
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA World Championship-winning players
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
Los Angeles Lakers players
LSU Tigers basketball players
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Male actors from San Antonio
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Miami Heat players
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
Musicians from San Antonio
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
New York Film Academy alumni
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Participants in American reality television series
Phoenix Suns players
Professional wrestlers from New Jersey
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Rappers from New Jersey
Rappers from Newark, New Jersey
Rappers from San Antonio
Sacramento Kings owners
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
United States men's national basketball team players
University of Phoenix alumni | true | [
"The Men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games took place on October 6 and 7, 2010, at the SPM Swimming Pool Complex.\n\nSeven heats were held, with most containing the maximum number of swimmers (eight). The heat in which a swimmer competed did not formally matter for advancement, as the swimmers with the top sixteen times advanced to the semifinals and the top eight times from there qualified for the finals.\n\nHeats\nThe Heats started on 8:52 local time.\n\nHeat 1\n\nHeat 2\n\nHeat 3\n\nHeat 4\n\nHeat 5\n\nHeat 6\n\nHeat 7\n\nSemifinals\n\nSemifinal 1\n\nSemifinal 2\n\nFinal\n\nSee also \n2010 Commonwealth Games\nSwimming at the 2010 Commonwealth Games\n\nReferences\n\nAquatics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games",
"The Men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games took place on October 5, 2010, at the SPM Swimming Pool Complex.\n\nFive heats were held, with most containing the maximum number of swimmers (eight). The heat in which a swimmer competed did not formally matter for advancement, as the swimmers with the top eight times from the entire field qualified for the finals.\n\nHeats\n\nHeat 1\n\nHeat 2\n\nHeat 3\n\nHeat 4\n\nHeat 5\n\nFinal\n\nReferences\n\nAquatics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games"
]
|
[
"Shaquille O'Neal",
"Miami Heat (2004-2008)",
"When did Shaq go to the Miami Heat?",
"On July 14, 2004,",
"How many games did he play with the Heat?",
"He played in 73 games,"
]
| C_5d6902ae12f84f88bc10e0405af46e83_0 | What were his stats? | 3 | What were Shaquille O'Neals stats? | Shaquille O'Neal | On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004-05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history. Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount. In the second game of the 2005-06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005-06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. CANNOTANSWER | averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. | Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a 7 ft 1 in and 325 lb center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007-2008 Season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season before retiring.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.
Early life
O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."
O'Neal came from a tall familyhis biological father stood and his mother was tall. By age 13, O'Neal was already tall. O'Neal credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.
After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to , and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.
College career
After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University (LSU). He had first met Tigers coach Dale Brown years earlier in Europe when O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
Rookie of the Year (1992–1993)
The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. In the summer before moving to Orlando, he spent time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal wore number 32 because Terry Catledge refused to relinquish the 33 jersey. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season, but missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."
First playoff appearance (1993–1994)
In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as the Pacers swept the Magic.
First scoring title and injury (1994–1996)
In O'Neal's third season, 1994–95, he led the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.
O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
First years in LA (1996–1999)
O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates teased him over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.
On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, the media announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."
The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.
With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.
Championship seasons (1999–2002)
In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired."
In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the LA Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game is the most recent game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer.
O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.
In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.
A month before the training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him.
In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.
Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work."
After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.
Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.
Toe surgery to departure (2002–2004)
O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. At the end of the season, the Lakers had fallen to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003.
For the 2003-04 season, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of two aging stars—forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton—but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either player nearly as much money as he could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant. The feud climaxed during training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Bryant, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized O'Neal for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the team.
The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004 and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding". After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki in return but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest, and eventually the two clubs agreed on a trade. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
Miami Heat (2004–2008)
First year in Miami (2004–2005)
On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (the Lakers used the draft choice to select Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. O'Neal made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.
Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal.
In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.
Fourth championship (2005–2006)
In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.
On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2–0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3–2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first-ever NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Heat were underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal's fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.
Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)
In the , O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "Benedict Arnold". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.
Career lows and disagreements (2007–2008)
O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.
O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points while starting all 28 games with the Suns.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9–37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008, against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."
In 28 regular season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, whom he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.
The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.
In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."
On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don't even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They're going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don't try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him. On February 25, 2010, O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play in time for the first round of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the second round. In September 2016, O'Neal said: "When I was in Cleveland, we were in first place. Big Baby [Glen Davis] breaks my hand and I had to sit out five weeks late in the year. I come back finally in the first round of the playoffs, and we lost to Boston in the second round. I was upset. I know for a fact if I was healthy, we would have gotten it done that year and won a ring." O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category during the 2009–10 season, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years.
Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment, nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.
O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.
On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short video on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.
National team career
While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led the Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Cup.
He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.
After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the 1999 FIBA AmeriCup squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.
Player profile
O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
At , and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents. On two occasions during his first season in the NBA, his powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports, prompting the league to increase the brace strength and stability of the backboards for the following 1993–94 season.
O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.
Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.
O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.
O'Neal only made one three-point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three-point-shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).
O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.
Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.
On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Off the court
Media personality
O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.
During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.
O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens". During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven-game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.
He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said many Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career.
During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.
O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.
O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in two sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."
Legal issues
In August 2010, O'Neal was sued by his personal IT technician, Shawn Darling, after O'Neal had allegedly attempted to plant child pornography on Darling's computer. Darling claimed that O'Neal had originally tried to protect himself by hacking his mistresses' voicemails and deleting relevant messages. Darling also alleged that O'Neal had used law enforcement contacts to obtain restricted information on those mistresses, and that O'Neal subsequently threw his laptop into a lake to destroy possible evidence.
In April 2014, O'Neal posted a photo on Instagram that showed himself mocking Jahmel Binion who suffers from Ectodermal dysplasia. O'Neal issued a public apology, stating that he and Binion had spoken and that he's "made a friend today". Binion would however go on to sue O'Neal for a sum larger than $25,000.
Education
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU, with a minor in political science. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.
In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".
O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.
Law enforcement
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.
In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.
In June 2008, the Bedford County, Virginia and Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff departments revoked O'Neal special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about Kobe Bryant and using racial slurs.
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.
Music career
Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.
O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.
Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.
O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU. Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.
In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.
On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Acting
Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in films that were panned by some critics.
O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.
O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boy for Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" and the video for Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men film series, but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.
He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (2002; episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (1997; episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (2014; episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie (2014). He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2.
Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.
O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.
Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.
O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.
O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.
O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.
On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.
In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We're even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We're specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."
Advertising
O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; Buick commercials; The General insurance commercials; Papa John's pizza commercials; Hulu commercials; Epson printer commercials; and IcyHot commercials, among others.
Mixed martial arts
O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Choi replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010, in an interview at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for four different promotions. His favorite wrestlers are Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, André the Giant, and Brock Lesnar.
In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.
In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first-ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Big Show and O'Neal had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which O'Neal accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. After weeks of discussion, the match was cancelled. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show later stated it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that caused the cancellation.
On the November 11, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill interrupted Cody Rhodes and teased the arrival of O'Neal in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He made a cameo appearance on Being The Elite and it was later confirmed that O'Neal had been appearing backstage at recent AEW tapings, including Full Gear. He appeared on the December 9 episode of AEW Dynamite and addressed AEW in a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone and Brandi Rhodes. At the end of the interview, O'Neal got water thrown on him by Brandi after telling her to get pointers from Cargill, who had broken Brandi's arm several weeks ago. On the March 3, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled The Crossroads, O'Neal teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. During the match, O'Neal paid tribute to Brodie Lee with his signature gesture and powerbomb and was driven through two tables by Cody, who hit O'Neal with a flying crossbody tackle as O'Neal was standing on the ring apron, knocking O'Neal through the tables that were set up at ringside.
Business ventures
O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.
In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.
O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.
In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings. In January 2022, O'Neal sold his stake in the Kings.
In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.
O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.
In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. O'Neal is also the global spokesperson for the company.
In 2018, O'Neal created his part music festival, circus and carnival, Shaq's Fun House, in partnership with Medium Rare, which is held annually. The event usually features celebrity DJ's and performers.
In early 2019 O'Neal joined the Papa John's board of directors and invested in nine stores in the Atlanta area. In addition, he became the spokesperson for the company as part of the three-year contract.
Personal life
O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
Marriage
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple has four children: Shareef (b. January 11, 2000), Amirah (b. November 13, 2001), Shaqir (b. April 19, 2003), and Me'arah (b. May 1, 2006). Nelson also has one son from a previous relationship, Myles. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. Shareef, later rated as a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, had committed to play college basketball at the University of Arizona, but rescinded the commitment in February 2018 after Arizona head coach Sean Miller was linked to potential major violations of NCAA recruiting rules.
Other relationships
O'Neal has a daughter named Taahirah O'Neal (b. July 19, 1996) from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts and later split in August 2012.
O'Neal began dating Laticia Rolle, a model, originally from Gardner, Massachusetts in early 2014. They later split in March 2018.
Outside of basketball
In June 2005 when Hall of Fame center George Mikan died, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.
O'Neal is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Prince Hall Freemason.
On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014, O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.
O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement. He participated in a virtual rally for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and voted for the first time during the 2020 presidential election.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 37.9 || .562 || .000 || .592 || 13.9 || 1.9 || .7 || 3.5 || 23.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 39.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .599* || .000 || .554 || 13.2 || 2.4 || .9 || 2.9 || 29.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 79 || 79 || 37.0 || .583 || .000 || .533 || 11.4 || 2.7 || .9 || 2.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.3*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 54 || 52 || 36.0 || .573 || .500 || .487 || 11.0 || 2.9 || .6 || 2.1 || 26.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 51 || 51 || 38.1 || .557 || .000 || .484 || 12.5 || 3.1 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 60 || 57 || 36.3 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .527 || 11.4 || 2.4 || .7 || 2.4 || 28.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 49 || 49 || 34.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .576* || .000 || .540 || 10.7 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 26.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 79 || 79 || 40.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .574* || .000 || .524 || 13.6 || 3.8 || .5 || 3.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.7*
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 74 || 74 || 39.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .572* || .000 || .513 || 12.7 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 28.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 36.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .579* || .000 || .555 || 10.7 || 3.0 || .6 || 2.0 || 27.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 37.8 || .574 || .000 || .622 || 11.1 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 27.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 67 || 36.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .490 || 11.5 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.5 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 73 || 73 || 34.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .601* || .000 || .461 || 10.4 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.3 || 22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 59 || 58 || 30.6 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .600* || .000 || .469 || 9.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.8 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 40 || 39 || 28.4 || .591 || .000 || .422 || 7.4 || 2.0 || .2 || 1.4 || 17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 33 || 33 || 28.6 || .581 || .000 || .494 || 7.8 || 1.4 || .6 || 1.6 || 14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 28 || 28 || 28.7 || .611 || .000 || .513 || 10.6 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.2 || 12.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 75 || 75 || 30.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .609* || .000 || .595 || 8.4 || 1.7 || .6 || 1.4 || 17.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 53 || 53 || 23.4 || .566 || .000 || .496 || 6.7 || 1.5 || .3 || 1.2 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 37 || 36 || 20.3 || .667 || .000 || .557 || 4.8 || .7 || .4 || 1.1 || 9.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,207 || 1,197 || 34.7 || .582 || .045 || .527 || 10.9 || 2.5 || .6 || 2.3 || 23.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 12 || 9 || 22.8 || .551 || .000 || .452 || 8.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 16.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .511 || .000 || .471 || 13.3 || 2.3 || .7 || 3.0 || 20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 21 || 21 || 38.3 || .577 || .000 || .571 || 11.9 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.9 || 25.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 12 || 12 || 38.3 || .606 || .000 || .393 || 10.0 || 4.6 || .8 || 1.3 || 25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 9 || 9 || 36.2 || .514 || .000 || .610 || 10.6 || 3.2 || .6 || 1.9 || 26.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 13 || 13 || 38.5 || .612 || .000 || .503 || 10.2 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.6 || 30.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .510 || .000 || .466 || 11.6 || 2.3 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2000†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 23 || 23 || 43.5 || .566 || .000 || .456 || 15.4 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 30.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 16 || 16 || 42.3 || .555 || .000 || .525 || 15.4 || 3.2 || .4 || 2.4 || 30.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 19 || 19 || 40.8 || .529 || .000 || .649 || 12.6 || 2.8 || .5 || 2.5 || 28.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 12 || 12 || 40.1 || .535 || .000 || .621 || 14.8 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 27.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 22 || 22 || 41.7 || .593 || .000 || .429 || 13.2 || 2.5 || .3 || 2.8 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 13 || 13 || 33.2 || .558 || .000 || .472 || 7.8 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.5 || 19.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006†
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 23 || 23 || 33.0 || .612 || .000 || .374 || 9.8 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.5 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 4 || 4 || 30.3 || .559 || .000 || .333 || 8.5 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.5 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 5 || 5 || 30.0 || .440 || .000 || .500 || 9.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.6 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 11 || 11 || 22.1 || .516 || .000 || .660 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 1.2 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 216 || 214 || 37.5 || .563 || .000 || .504 || 11.6 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 24.3
Discography
Studio albums
Shaq Diesel (1993)
Shaq Fu: Da Return (1994)
You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
Respect (1998)
Unreleased albums
Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001)
Filmography
Television credits
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Shaq Attaq! (1994)
A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
Shaq Talks Back (2002)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
See also
List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
Highest-paid NBA players by season
Shaq–Kobe feud
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
List of NCAA Division I basketball players with 5 or more career triple-doubles
List of Freemasons
References
External links
Shaquille O'Neal at Louisiana State
1972 births
Living people
1994 FIBA World Championship players
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
A&M Records artists
African-American basketball players
African-American businesspeople
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male professional wrestlers
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
African-American sports journalists
African-American television personalities
All-American college men's basketball players
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American Freemasons
American investors
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male rappers
American men podcasters
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
American podcasters
American Prince Hall Freemasons
American real estate businesspeople
American stock traders
Barry University alumni
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey
Basketball players from San Antonio
Boston Celtics players
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Texas
Businesspeople in technology
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
East Coast hip hop musicians
Esports team owners
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA World Championship-winning players
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
Los Angeles Lakers players
LSU Tigers basketball players
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Male actors from San Antonio
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Miami Heat players
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
Musicians from San Antonio
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
New York Film Academy alumni
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Participants in American reality television series
Phoenix Suns players
Professional wrestlers from New Jersey
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Rappers from New Jersey
Rappers from Newark, New Jersey
Rappers from San Antonio
Sacramento Kings owners
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
United States men's national basketball team players
University of Phoenix alumni | true | [
"The Louisiana Swashbucklers were a professional indoor football team based in Lake Charles, Louisiana. They were formed in 2005 as an expansion member of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) and were originally known as the Southwest Louisiana Swashbucklers. They replaced another NIFL franchise, the Lake Charles Land Sharks. In 2006, they moved to the Intense Football League (IFL) and shortened their name to Louisiana Swashbucklers. They were originally set to play in the Indoor Football League due to the IFL's merger with United Indoor Football, but later had to bow out over financial concerns. For their next three seasons, they were a member of the new Southern Indoor Football League. Later a member of the Professional Indoor Football League, they played their home games at Sudduth Coliseum in Lake Charles, Louisiana. On May 24, 2013, the team announced that they would be ceasing operations due to low turnout and cancelled the team's final home game.\n\nFinal roster\n\nFinal roster\n\nThe last reported roster was on July 16, 2013.\n\nAll-league players\nFB Kendrick Perry (2)\nWR Jordan Rideaux (2)\nOL Roman Pritt\nDL John Paul Jones\nDB Damian Huren (2)\n\nSeason-by-season results\n\nExternal links\n Official website\n Southwest Louisiana Swashbucklers' 2005 stats\n Louisiana Swashbucklers' 2006 stats\n Louisiana Swashbucklers' 2007 stats\n Louisiana Swashbucklers' 2008 stats\n Louisiana Swashbucklers' 2009 stats\n Louisiana Swashbucklers' 2010 stats\n Louisiana Swashbucklers' 2011 stats\n\n \nAmerican football teams in Louisiana\n2005 establishments in Louisiana\n2013 disestablishments in Louisiana",
"The Lake Charles Land Sharks were an indoor football team. They were a charter member of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). They played their home games at the Sudduth Coliseum in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Despite having pretty good success throughout their existence, the team folded after the 2004 season and were replaced by the Louisiana Swashbucklers.\n\nSeason-by-Season \n\n|-\n|2001 || 7 || 3 || 0 || 2nd South || Lost Round 1 (Ohio Valley) \n|-\n|2002 || 13 || 2 || 0 || 1st Atlantic South || Lost Round 1 (T. ThunderCats)\n|-\n|2003 || 13 || 3 || 0 || 1st Atlantic South || Won Round 1 (Houma Bayou Bucks)Lost AC Championship (Ohio Valley)\n|-\n|2004 || 7 || 7 || 0 || 4th Atlantic South || --\n|-\n!Totals || 41 || 18 || 0\n|colspan=\"2\"| (including playoffs)\n\nExternal links\n L.C. Land Sharks' 2001 Stats\n L.C. Land Sharks' 2002 Stats\n L.C. Land Sharks' 2003 Stats\n L.C. Land Sharks' 2004 Stats\n\nAmerican football teams in Louisiana\nNational Indoor Football League teams\nLand Sharks\nAmerican football teams established in 2000\nAmerican football teams disestablished in 2004\n2000 establishments in Louisiana\n2004 disestablishments in Louisiana"
]
|
[
"Shaquille O'Neal",
"Miami Heat (2004-2008)",
"When did Shaq go to the Miami Heat?",
"On July 14, 2004,",
"How many games did he play with the Heat?",
"He played in 73 games,",
"What were his stats?",
"averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks."
]
| C_5d6902ae12f84f88bc10e0405af46e83_0 | Did he win any awards? | 4 | Did Shaquille O'Neal win any awards? | Shaquille O'Neal | On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004-05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history. Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount. In the second game of the 2005-06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005-06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. CANNOTANSWER | won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. | Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a 7 ft 1 in and 325 lb center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007-2008 Season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season before retiring.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.
Early life
O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."
O'Neal came from a tall familyhis biological father stood and his mother was tall. By age 13, O'Neal was already tall. O'Neal credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.
After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to , and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.
College career
After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University (LSU). He had first met Tigers coach Dale Brown years earlier in Europe when O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
Rookie of the Year (1992–1993)
The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. In the summer before moving to Orlando, he spent time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal wore number 32 because Terry Catledge refused to relinquish the 33 jersey. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season, but missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."
First playoff appearance (1993–1994)
In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as the Pacers swept the Magic.
First scoring title and injury (1994–1996)
In O'Neal's third season, 1994–95, he led the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.
O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
First years in LA (1996–1999)
O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates teased him over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.
On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, the media announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."
The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.
With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.
Championship seasons (1999–2002)
In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired."
In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the LA Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game is the most recent game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer.
O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.
In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.
A month before the training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him.
In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.
Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work."
After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.
Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.
Toe surgery to departure (2002–2004)
O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. At the end of the season, the Lakers had fallen to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003.
For the 2003-04 season, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of two aging stars—forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton—but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either player nearly as much money as he could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant. The feud climaxed during training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Bryant, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized O'Neal for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the team.
The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004 and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding". After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki in return but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest, and eventually the two clubs agreed on a trade. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
Miami Heat (2004–2008)
First year in Miami (2004–2005)
On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (the Lakers used the draft choice to select Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. O'Neal made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.
Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal.
In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.
Fourth championship (2005–2006)
In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.
On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2–0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3–2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first-ever NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Heat were underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal's fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.
Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)
In the , O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "Benedict Arnold". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.
Career lows and disagreements (2007–2008)
O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.
O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points while starting all 28 games with the Suns.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9–37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008, against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."
In 28 regular season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, whom he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.
The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.
In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."
On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don't even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They're going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don't try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him. On February 25, 2010, O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play in time for the first round of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the second round. In September 2016, O'Neal said: "When I was in Cleveland, we were in first place. Big Baby [Glen Davis] breaks my hand and I had to sit out five weeks late in the year. I come back finally in the first round of the playoffs, and we lost to Boston in the second round. I was upset. I know for a fact if I was healthy, we would have gotten it done that year and won a ring." O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category during the 2009–10 season, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years.
Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment, nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.
O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.
On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short video on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.
National team career
While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led the Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Cup.
He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.
After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the 1999 FIBA AmeriCup squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.
Player profile
O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
At , and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents. On two occasions during his first season in the NBA, his powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports, prompting the league to increase the brace strength and stability of the backboards for the following 1993–94 season.
O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.
Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.
O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.
O'Neal only made one three-point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three-point-shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).
O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.
Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.
On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Off the court
Media personality
O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.
During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.
O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens". During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven-game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.
He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said many Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career.
During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.
O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.
O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in two sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."
Legal issues
In August 2010, O'Neal was sued by his personal IT technician, Shawn Darling, after O'Neal had allegedly attempted to plant child pornography on Darling's computer. Darling claimed that O'Neal had originally tried to protect himself by hacking his mistresses' voicemails and deleting relevant messages. Darling also alleged that O'Neal had used law enforcement contacts to obtain restricted information on those mistresses, and that O'Neal subsequently threw his laptop into a lake to destroy possible evidence.
In April 2014, O'Neal posted a photo on Instagram that showed himself mocking Jahmel Binion who suffers from Ectodermal dysplasia. O'Neal issued a public apology, stating that he and Binion had spoken and that he's "made a friend today". Binion would however go on to sue O'Neal for a sum larger than $25,000.
Education
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU, with a minor in political science. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.
In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".
O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.
Law enforcement
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.
In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.
In June 2008, the Bedford County, Virginia and Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff departments revoked O'Neal special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about Kobe Bryant and using racial slurs.
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.
Music career
Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.
O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.
Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.
O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU. Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.
In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.
On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Acting
Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in films that were panned by some critics.
O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.
O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boy for Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" and the video for Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men film series, but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.
He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (2002; episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (1997; episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (2014; episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie (2014). He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2.
Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.
O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.
Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.
O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.
O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.
O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.
On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.
In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We're even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We're specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."
Advertising
O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; Buick commercials; The General insurance commercials; Papa John's pizza commercials; Hulu commercials; Epson printer commercials; and IcyHot commercials, among others.
Mixed martial arts
O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Choi replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010, in an interview at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for four different promotions. His favorite wrestlers are Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, André the Giant, and Brock Lesnar.
In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.
In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first-ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Big Show and O'Neal had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which O'Neal accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. After weeks of discussion, the match was cancelled. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show later stated it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that caused the cancellation.
On the November 11, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill interrupted Cody Rhodes and teased the arrival of O'Neal in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He made a cameo appearance on Being The Elite and it was later confirmed that O'Neal had been appearing backstage at recent AEW tapings, including Full Gear. He appeared on the December 9 episode of AEW Dynamite and addressed AEW in a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone and Brandi Rhodes. At the end of the interview, O'Neal got water thrown on him by Brandi after telling her to get pointers from Cargill, who had broken Brandi's arm several weeks ago. On the March 3, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled The Crossroads, O'Neal teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. During the match, O'Neal paid tribute to Brodie Lee with his signature gesture and powerbomb and was driven through two tables by Cody, who hit O'Neal with a flying crossbody tackle as O'Neal was standing on the ring apron, knocking O'Neal through the tables that were set up at ringside.
Business ventures
O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.
In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.
O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.
In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings. In January 2022, O'Neal sold his stake in the Kings.
In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.
O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.
In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. O'Neal is also the global spokesperson for the company.
In 2018, O'Neal created his part music festival, circus and carnival, Shaq's Fun House, in partnership with Medium Rare, which is held annually. The event usually features celebrity DJ's and performers.
In early 2019 O'Neal joined the Papa John's board of directors and invested in nine stores in the Atlanta area. In addition, he became the spokesperson for the company as part of the three-year contract.
Personal life
O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
Marriage
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple has four children: Shareef (b. January 11, 2000), Amirah (b. November 13, 2001), Shaqir (b. April 19, 2003), and Me'arah (b. May 1, 2006). Nelson also has one son from a previous relationship, Myles. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. Shareef, later rated as a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, had committed to play college basketball at the University of Arizona, but rescinded the commitment in February 2018 after Arizona head coach Sean Miller was linked to potential major violations of NCAA recruiting rules.
Other relationships
O'Neal has a daughter named Taahirah O'Neal (b. July 19, 1996) from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts and later split in August 2012.
O'Neal began dating Laticia Rolle, a model, originally from Gardner, Massachusetts in early 2014. They later split in March 2018.
Outside of basketball
In June 2005 when Hall of Fame center George Mikan died, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.
O'Neal is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Prince Hall Freemason.
On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014, O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.
O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement. He participated in a virtual rally for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and voted for the first time during the 2020 presidential election.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 37.9 || .562 || .000 || .592 || 13.9 || 1.9 || .7 || 3.5 || 23.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 39.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .599* || .000 || .554 || 13.2 || 2.4 || .9 || 2.9 || 29.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 79 || 79 || 37.0 || .583 || .000 || .533 || 11.4 || 2.7 || .9 || 2.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.3*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 54 || 52 || 36.0 || .573 || .500 || .487 || 11.0 || 2.9 || .6 || 2.1 || 26.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 51 || 51 || 38.1 || .557 || .000 || .484 || 12.5 || 3.1 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 60 || 57 || 36.3 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .527 || 11.4 || 2.4 || .7 || 2.4 || 28.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 49 || 49 || 34.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .576* || .000 || .540 || 10.7 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 26.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 79 || 79 || 40.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .574* || .000 || .524 || 13.6 || 3.8 || .5 || 3.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.7*
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 74 || 74 || 39.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .572* || .000 || .513 || 12.7 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 28.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 36.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .579* || .000 || .555 || 10.7 || 3.0 || .6 || 2.0 || 27.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 37.8 || .574 || .000 || .622 || 11.1 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 27.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 67 || 36.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .490 || 11.5 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.5 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 73 || 73 || 34.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .601* || .000 || .461 || 10.4 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.3 || 22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 59 || 58 || 30.6 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .600* || .000 || .469 || 9.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.8 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 40 || 39 || 28.4 || .591 || .000 || .422 || 7.4 || 2.0 || .2 || 1.4 || 17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 33 || 33 || 28.6 || .581 || .000 || .494 || 7.8 || 1.4 || .6 || 1.6 || 14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 28 || 28 || 28.7 || .611 || .000 || .513 || 10.6 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.2 || 12.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 75 || 75 || 30.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .609* || .000 || .595 || 8.4 || 1.7 || .6 || 1.4 || 17.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 53 || 53 || 23.4 || .566 || .000 || .496 || 6.7 || 1.5 || .3 || 1.2 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 37 || 36 || 20.3 || .667 || .000 || .557 || 4.8 || .7 || .4 || 1.1 || 9.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,207 || 1,197 || 34.7 || .582 || .045 || .527 || 10.9 || 2.5 || .6 || 2.3 || 23.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 12 || 9 || 22.8 || .551 || .000 || .452 || 8.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 16.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .511 || .000 || .471 || 13.3 || 2.3 || .7 || 3.0 || 20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 21 || 21 || 38.3 || .577 || .000 || .571 || 11.9 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.9 || 25.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 12 || 12 || 38.3 || .606 || .000 || .393 || 10.0 || 4.6 || .8 || 1.3 || 25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 9 || 9 || 36.2 || .514 || .000 || .610 || 10.6 || 3.2 || .6 || 1.9 || 26.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 13 || 13 || 38.5 || .612 || .000 || .503 || 10.2 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.6 || 30.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .510 || .000 || .466 || 11.6 || 2.3 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2000†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 23 || 23 || 43.5 || .566 || .000 || .456 || 15.4 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 30.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 16 || 16 || 42.3 || .555 || .000 || .525 || 15.4 || 3.2 || .4 || 2.4 || 30.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 19 || 19 || 40.8 || .529 || .000 || .649 || 12.6 || 2.8 || .5 || 2.5 || 28.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 12 || 12 || 40.1 || .535 || .000 || .621 || 14.8 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 27.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 22 || 22 || 41.7 || .593 || .000 || .429 || 13.2 || 2.5 || .3 || 2.8 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 13 || 13 || 33.2 || .558 || .000 || .472 || 7.8 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.5 || 19.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006†
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 23 || 23 || 33.0 || .612 || .000 || .374 || 9.8 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.5 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 4 || 4 || 30.3 || .559 || .000 || .333 || 8.5 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.5 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 5 || 5 || 30.0 || .440 || .000 || .500 || 9.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.6 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 11 || 11 || 22.1 || .516 || .000 || .660 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 1.2 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 216 || 214 || 37.5 || .563 || .000 || .504 || 11.6 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 24.3
Discography
Studio albums
Shaq Diesel (1993)
Shaq Fu: Da Return (1994)
You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
Respect (1998)
Unreleased albums
Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001)
Filmography
Television credits
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Shaq Attaq! (1994)
A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
Shaq Talks Back (2002)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
See also
List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
Highest-paid NBA players by season
Shaq–Kobe feud
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
List of NCAA Division I basketball players with 5 or more career triple-doubles
List of Freemasons
References
External links
Shaquille O'Neal at Louisiana State
1972 births
Living people
1994 FIBA World Championship players
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
A&M Records artists
African-American basketball players
African-American businesspeople
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male professional wrestlers
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
African-American sports journalists
African-American television personalities
All-American college men's basketball players
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American Freemasons
American investors
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male rappers
American men podcasters
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
American podcasters
American Prince Hall Freemasons
American real estate businesspeople
American stock traders
Barry University alumni
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey
Basketball players from San Antonio
Boston Celtics players
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Texas
Businesspeople in technology
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
East Coast hip hop musicians
Esports team owners
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA World Championship-winning players
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
Los Angeles Lakers players
LSU Tigers basketball players
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Male actors from San Antonio
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Miami Heat players
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
Musicians from San Antonio
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
New York Film Academy alumni
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Participants in American reality television series
Phoenix Suns players
Professional wrestlers from New Jersey
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Rappers from New Jersey
Rappers from Newark, New Jersey
Rappers from San Antonio
Sacramento Kings owners
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
United States men's national basketball team players
University of Phoenix alumni | true | [
"Le Cousin is a 1997 French film directed by Alain Corneau.\n\nPlot \nThe film deals with the relationship of the police and an informant in the drug scene.\n\nAwards and nominations\nLe Cousin was nominated for 5 César Awards but did not win in any category.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1997 films\n1997 crime films\nFilms about drugs\nFilms directed by Alain Corneau\nFrench crime films\nFrench films\nFrench-language films",
"The 23rd Fangoria Chainsaw Awards is an award ceremony presented for horror films that were released in 2020. The nominees were announced on January 20, 2021. The film The Invisible Man won five of its five nominations, including Best Wide Release, as well as the write-in poll of Best Kill. Color Out Of Space and Possessor each took two awards. His House did not win any of its seven nominations. The ceremony was exclusively livestreamed for the first time on the SHUDDER horror streaming service.\n\nWinners and nominees\n\nReferences\n\nFangoria Chainsaw Awards"
]
|
[
"Shaquille O'Neal",
"Miami Heat (2004-2008)",
"When did Shaq go to the Miami Heat?",
"On July 14, 2004,",
"How many games did he play with the Heat?",
"He played in 73 games,",
"What were his stats?",
"averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.",
"Did he win any awards?",
"won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March."
]
| C_5d6902ae12f84f88bc10e0405af46e83_0 | What was it about his performance that was so good? | 5 | In March, what made Shaquille O'Neal's performance in the Eastern Conference so good? | Shaquille O'Neal | On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004-05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history. Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount. In the second game of the 2005-06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005-06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. CANNOTANSWER | O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. | Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a 7 ft 1 in and 325 lb center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007-2008 Season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season before retiring.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.
Early life
O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."
O'Neal came from a tall familyhis biological father stood and his mother was tall. By age 13, O'Neal was already tall. O'Neal credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.
After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to , and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.
College career
After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University (LSU). He had first met Tigers coach Dale Brown years earlier in Europe when O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
Rookie of the Year (1992–1993)
The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. In the summer before moving to Orlando, he spent time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal wore number 32 because Terry Catledge refused to relinquish the 33 jersey. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season, but missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."
First playoff appearance (1993–1994)
In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as the Pacers swept the Magic.
First scoring title and injury (1994–1996)
In O'Neal's third season, 1994–95, he led the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.
O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
First years in LA (1996–1999)
O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates teased him over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.
On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, the media announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."
The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.
With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.
Championship seasons (1999–2002)
In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired."
In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the LA Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game is the most recent game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer.
O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.
In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.
A month before the training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him.
In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.
Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work."
After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.
Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.
Toe surgery to departure (2002–2004)
O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. At the end of the season, the Lakers had fallen to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003.
For the 2003-04 season, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of two aging stars—forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton—but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either player nearly as much money as he could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant. The feud climaxed during training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Bryant, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized O'Neal for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the team.
The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004 and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding". After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki in return but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest, and eventually the two clubs agreed on a trade. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
Miami Heat (2004–2008)
First year in Miami (2004–2005)
On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (the Lakers used the draft choice to select Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. O'Neal made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.
Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal.
In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.
Fourth championship (2005–2006)
In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.
On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2–0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3–2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first-ever NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Heat were underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal's fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.
Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)
In the , O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "Benedict Arnold". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.
Career lows and disagreements (2007–2008)
O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.
O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points while starting all 28 games with the Suns.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9–37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008, against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."
In 28 regular season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, whom he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.
The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.
In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."
On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don't even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They're going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don't try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him. On February 25, 2010, O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play in time for the first round of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the second round. In September 2016, O'Neal said: "When I was in Cleveland, we were in first place. Big Baby [Glen Davis] breaks my hand and I had to sit out five weeks late in the year. I come back finally in the first round of the playoffs, and we lost to Boston in the second round. I was upset. I know for a fact if I was healthy, we would have gotten it done that year and won a ring." O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category during the 2009–10 season, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years.
Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment, nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.
O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.
On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short video on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.
National team career
While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led the Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Cup.
He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.
After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the 1999 FIBA AmeriCup squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.
Player profile
O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
At , and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents. On two occasions during his first season in the NBA, his powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports, prompting the league to increase the brace strength and stability of the backboards for the following 1993–94 season.
O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.
Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.
O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.
O'Neal only made one three-point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three-point-shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).
O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.
Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.
On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Off the court
Media personality
O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.
During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.
O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens". During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven-game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.
He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said many Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career.
During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.
O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.
O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in two sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."
Legal issues
In August 2010, O'Neal was sued by his personal IT technician, Shawn Darling, after O'Neal had allegedly attempted to plant child pornography on Darling's computer. Darling claimed that O'Neal had originally tried to protect himself by hacking his mistresses' voicemails and deleting relevant messages. Darling also alleged that O'Neal had used law enforcement contacts to obtain restricted information on those mistresses, and that O'Neal subsequently threw his laptop into a lake to destroy possible evidence.
In April 2014, O'Neal posted a photo on Instagram that showed himself mocking Jahmel Binion who suffers from Ectodermal dysplasia. O'Neal issued a public apology, stating that he and Binion had spoken and that he's "made a friend today". Binion would however go on to sue O'Neal for a sum larger than $25,000.
Education
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU, with a minor in political science. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.
In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".
O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.
Law enforcement
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.
In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.
In June 2008, the Bedford County, Virginia and Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff departments revoked O'Neal special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about Kobe Bryant and using racial slurs.
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.
Music career
Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.
O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.
Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.
O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU. Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.
In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.
On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Acting
Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in films that were panned by some critics.
O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.
O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boy for Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" and the video for Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men film series, but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.
He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (2002; episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (1997; episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (2014; episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie (2014). He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2.
Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.
O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.
Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.
O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.
O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.
O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.
On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.
In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We're even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We're specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."
Advertising
O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; Buick commercials; The General insurance commercials; Papa John's pizza commercials; Hulu commercials; Epson printer commercials; and IcyHot commercials, among others.
Mixed martial arts
O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Choi replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010, in an interview at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for four different promotions. His favorite wrestlers are Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, André the Giant, and Brock Lesnar.
In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.
In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first-ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Big Show and O'Neal had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which O'Neal accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. After weeks of discussion, the match was cancelled. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show later stated it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that caused the cancellation.
On the November 11, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill interrupted Cody Rhodes and teased the arrival of O'Neal in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He made a cameo appearance on Being The Elite and it was later confirmed that O'Neal had been appearing backstage at recent AEW tapings, including Full Gear. He appeared on the December 9 episode of AEW Dynamite and addressed AEW in a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone and Brandi Rhodes. At the end of the interview, O'Neal got water thrown on him by Brandi after telling her to get pointers from Cargill, who had broken Brandi's arm several weeks ago. On the March 3, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled The Crossroads, O'Neal teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. During the match, O'Neal paid tribute to Brodie Lee with his signature gesture and powerbomb and was driven through two tables by Cody, who hit O'Neal with a flying crossbody tackle as O'Neal was standing on the ring apron, knocking O'Neal through the tables that were set up at ringside.
Business ventures
O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.
In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.
O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.
In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings. In January 2022, O'Neal sold his stake in the Kings.
In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.
O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.
In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. O'Neal is also the global spokesperson for the company.
In 2018, O'Neal created his part music festival, circus and carnival, Shaq's Fun House, in partnership with Medium Rare, which is held annually. The event usually features celebrity DJ's and performers.
In early 2019 O'Neal joined the Papa John's board of directors and invested in nine stores in the Atlanta area. In addition, he became the spokesperson for the company as part of the three-year contract.
Personal life
O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
Marriage
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple has four children: Shareef (b. January 11, 2000), Amirah (b. November 13, 2001), Shaqir (b. April 19, 2003), and Me'arah (b. May 1, 2006). Nelson also has one son from a previous relationship, Myles. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. Shareef, later rated as a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, had committed to play college basketball at the University of Arizona, but rescinded the commitment in February 2018 after Arizona head coach Sean Miller was linked to potential major violations of NCAA recruiting rules.
Other relationships
O'Neal has a daughter named Taahirah O'Neal (b. July 19, 1996) from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts and later split in August 2012.
O'Neal began dating Laticia Rolle, a model, originally from Gardner, Massachusetts in early 2014. They later split in March 2018.
Outside of basketball
In June 2005 when Hall of Fame center George Mikan died, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.
O'Neal is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Prince Hall Freemason.
On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014, O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.
O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement. He participated in a virtual rally for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and voted for the first time during the 2020 presidential election.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 37.9 || .562 || .000 || .592 || 13.9 || 1.9 || .7 || 3.5 || 23.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 39.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .599* || .000 || .554 || 13.2 || 2.4 || .9 || 2.9 || 29.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 79 || 79 || 37.0 || .583 || .000 || .533 || 11.4 || 2.7 || .9 || 2.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.3*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 54 || 52 || 36.0 || .573 || .500 || .487 || 11.0 || 2.9 || .6 || 2.1 || 26.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 51 || 51 || 38.1 || .557 || .000 || .484 || 12.5 || 3.1 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 60 || 57 || 36.3 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .527 || 11.4 || 2.4 || .7 || 2.4 || 28.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 49 || 49 || 34.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .576* || .000 || .540 || 10.7 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 26.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 79 || 79 || 40.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .574* || .000 || .524 || 13.6 || 3.8 || .5 || 3.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.7*
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 74 || 74 || 39.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .572* || .000 || .513 || 12.7 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 28.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 36.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .579* || .000 || .555 || 10.7 || 3.0 || .6 || 2.0 || 27.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 37.8 || .574 || .000 || .622 || 11.1 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 27.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 67 || 36.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .490 || 11.5 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.5 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 73 || 73 || 34.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .601* || .000 || .461 || 10.4 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.3 || 22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 59 || 58 || 30.6 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .600* || .000 || .469 || 9.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.8 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 40 || 39 || 28.4 || .591 || .000 || .422 || 7.4 || 2.0 || .2 || 1.4 || 17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 33 || 33 || 28.6 || .581 || .000 || .494 || 7.8 || 1.4 || .6 || 1.6 || 14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 28 || 28 || 28.7 || .611 || .000 || .513 || 10.6 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.2 || 12.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 75 || 75 || 30.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .609* || .000 || .595 || 8.4 || 1.7 || .6 || 1.4 || 17.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 53 || 53 || 23.4 || .566 || .000 || .496 || 6.7 || 1.5 || .3 || 1.2 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 37 || 36 || 20.3 || .667 || .000 || .557 || 4.8 || .7 || .4 || 1.1 || 9.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,207 || 1,197 || 34.7 || .582 || .045 || .527 || 10.9 || 2.5 || .6 || 2.3 || 23.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 12 || 9 || 22.8 || .551 || .000 || .452 || 8.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 16.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .511 || .000 || .471 || 13.3 || 2.3 || .7 || 3.0 || 20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 21 || 21 || 38.3 || .577 || .000 || .571 || 11.9 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.9 || 25.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 12 || 12 || 38.3 || .606 || .000 || .393 || 10.0 || 4.6 || .8 || 1.3 || 25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 9 || 9 || 36.2 || .514 || .000 || .610 || 10.6 || 3.2 || .6 || 1.9 || 26.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 13 || 13 || 38.5 || .612 || .000 || .503 || 10.2 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.6 || 30.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .510 || .000 || .466 || 11.6 || 2.3 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2000†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 23 || 23 || 43.5 || .566 || .000 || .456 || 15.4 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 30.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 16 || 16 || 42.3 || .555 || .000 || .525 || 15.4 || 3.2 || .4 || 2.4 || 30.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 19 || 19 || 40.8 || .529 || .000 || .649 || 12.6 || 2.8 || .5 || 2.5 || 28.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 12 || 12 || 40.1 || .535 || .000 || .621 || 14.8 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 27.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 22 || 22 || 41.7 || .593 || .000 || .429 || 13.2 || 2.5 || .3 || 2.8 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 13 || 13 || 33.2 || .558 || .000 || .472 || 7.8 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.5 || 19.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006†
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 23 || 23 || 33.0 || .612 || .000 || .374 || 9.8 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.5 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 4 || 4 || 30.3 || .559 || .000 || .333 || 8.5 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.5 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 5 || 5 || 30.0 || .440 || .000 || .500 || 9.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.6 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 11 || 11 || 22.1 || .516 || .000 || .660 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 1.2 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 216 || 214 || 37.5 || .563 || .000 || .504 || 11.6 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 24.3
Discography
Studio albums
Shaq Diesel (1993)
Shaq Fu: Da Return (1994)
You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
Respect (1998)
Unreleased albums
Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001)
Filmography
Television credits
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Shaq Attaq! (1994)
A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
Shaq Talks Back (2002)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
See also
List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
Highest-paid NBA players by season
Shaq–Kobe feud
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
List of NCAA Division I basketball players with 5 or more career triple-doubles
List of Freemasons
References
External links
Shaquille O'Neal at Louisiana State
1972 births
Living people
1994 FIBA World Championship players
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
A&M Records artists
African-American basketball players
African-American businesspeople
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male professional wrestlers
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
African-American sports journalists
African-American television personalities
All-American college men's basketball players
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American Freemasons
American investors
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male rappers
American men podcasters
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
American podcasters
American Prince Hall Freemasons
American real estate businesspeople
American stock traders
Barry University alumni
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey
Basketball players from San Antonio
Boston Celtics players
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Texas
Businesspeople in technology
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
East Coast hip hop musicians
Esports team owners
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA World Championship-winning players
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
Los Angeles Lakers players
LSU Tigers basketball players
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Male actors from San Antonio
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Miami Heat players
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
Musicians from San Antonio
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
New York Film Academy alumni
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Participants in American reality television series
Phoenix Suns players
Professional wrestlers from New Jersey
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Rappers from New Jersey
Rappers from Newark, New Jersey
Rappers from San Antonio
Sacramento Kings owners
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
United States men's national basketball team players
University of Phoenix alumni | false | [
"\"Boy Blue\" is a pop song written by Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Broughton Lunt, and Jeff Bova for Lauper's second album, True Colors (1986). It was released as the album's fourth single in 1987 (see 1987 in music). The single version is a remix. Charting at #71 on the Hot 100, it was Lauper's first solo single that failed to make a real impact on the charts. Proceeds from the sale of the single were donated to AIDS organizations.\n\nThe official video was a live clip of the song in Paris, France and it was pulled from the concert video Cyndi Lauper in Paris. The video received heavy airplay on MTV when the single was released (during June and July 1987) and was rarely played after. A live version of \"Boy Blue\" was later released as the B-side of her single \"Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)\".\n\nBackground\nThematically like \"True Colors\" on the album, Lauper wrote this song for a friend who died of AIDS, and the title comes from a poem by Eugene Field called \"Little Boy Blue\". This poem is based on a kid's story:\n\n\"Little Boy Blue\"\n The little toy dog is covered with dust,\n But sturdy and staunch he stands;\n And the little toy soldier is red with rust,\n And his musket moulds in his hands;\n Time was when the little toy dog was new,\n And the soldier was passing fair;\n And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue\n Kissed them and put them there.\nHere is what Cyndi says about this song:\n\n\"I tried to write about my friend. I knew he really loved 'That's What Friends Are For.' I know that maybe he would have liked me to do a song like that. Instead I wrote about him personally. I don't know that my lyrics were good enough, I don't know that anything was good enough. Maybe it was too personal. I don't know. But I wrote it for him. It was because of him that I keep trying to do stuff. And other friends. So many talented people, so many of our friends and so many gifted people have passed on. Or struggle everyday. Just to live. And it was because of my friends and others that I do this. Maybe that song wasn't good enough, I don't know.\"\n\nWhen Lauper was asked about her intense live performance that was released as the video for the song, she responded:\n\n\"I used to cry every night when I sang that song. I was so mad. You know, you go through so much and I was so mad. I was mad that my friend was gone, I was mad at the way people treated me...We didn't know what the hell it was. We didn't know anything. Then all of a sudden it was out in the open and everyone was talking about it, but when he first told me about it I didn't understand. I didn't know. And then all of a sudden my friend was ill and ill and ill and then...It was so hard. I was so angry and every night I would sing my guts out, but you'd open your eyes after and it was the same. But sometimes, in a lot of ways, it was healing.\"\n\nMusic video\n\nThe official music video for the song was a live video clip pulled from the \"Cyndi Lauper in Paris\" home video cassette and HBO special. It was directed by Andy Morahan.\n\nTrack listing\n7\"\n \"Boy Blue\" (Remix) – 3:58\n \"The Faraway Nearby\" – 2:57\n\n12\"\n \"Boy Blue\" (LP Version)\n \"Time After Time\"\n \"The Faraway Nearby\"\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n1987 songs\n1987 singles\nCyndi Lauper songs\nEpic Records singles\nMusic videos directed by Andy Morahan\nSong recordings produced by Cyndi Lauper\nSongs written by Cyndi Lauper\nSongs written by Jeff Bova\nSongs about HIV/AIDS",
"\"That's Good\" is a song by the American new wave band Devo, written by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale. It appears on their fifth studio album Oh, No! It's Devo. According to Casale, \"the lyrics deal with the ambiguity that if everybody wants what you want, how can everybody have it if everybody wants it and what happens when everybody tries to get it, and maybe you should change what you want.\"\n\nPromotional music video\nThe music video for \"That's Good\" eschewed Devo's previous narrative style for a basic performance against a bluescreen background displaying related visuals to the song. This was intended to replicate the band's intentions for the forthcoming tour for those who would be unable to attend. The video for \"That's Good\" was one of the first videos that ran into censorship troubles on MTV. The juxtaposition of the image in a cartoon of a french fry penetrating the hole of a doughnut and then quickly cut to a writhing, smiling nude woman, shot from the neck up, was considered too risqué for airplay. In an interview with band member and video director Gerald Casale for the book Devo's Freedom of Choice, \n\"We got this call from [MTV co-founder] Les Garland, He was like, 'Look, we know what you're trying to do here.' I go, What do you mean? He goes, 'Ya know, when that cartoon French fry glides through that cartoon donut and then it's with the girl looking happy. You can have the French fry, or you can have the donut, but you can't have the French fry and the donut, Otherwise, you can't cut to the girl.' And I go, 'But what about when the French fry hits the donut and breaks in half and she's sad?' And he goes 'Alright you little smart ass.' It was horrible. Then I go, 'What about that Billy Idol video you have and the girls are in skin-tight pants and their asses are full on in the screen and his head is between her legs and then somebody slaps her ass? What about that?' He goes, 'we're talking about you, we're not talking about them.\" \nCasale eventually relented and made significant cuts to the video, which he regrets because by then, \"the song was going down in the charts, not up.\"\n\nTrack listing\n 12\" Single\n\"That's Good\" – 3:23\n\"Speed Racer (Long Edit)\" – 3:42\n\n 7\" Single\n\"That's Good\" – 2:59\n\"What I Must Do\" – 2:34\n\nChart performance\n\nReferences\n\n1982 singles\n1982 songs\nDevo songs\nSongs written by Mark Mothersbaugh\nSongs written by Gerald Casale\nWarner Records singles"
]
|
[
"Shaquille O'Neal",
"Miami Heat (2004-2008)",
"When did Shaq go to the Miami Heat?",
"On July 14, 2004,",
"How many games did he play with the Heat?",
"He played in 73 games,",
"What were his stats?",
"averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.",
"Did he win any awards?",
"won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March.",
"What was it about his performance that was so good?",
"O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage."
]
| C_5d6902ae12f84f88bc10e0405af46e83_0 | Did he suffer any injuries while playing with the Heat? | 6 | Did Shaquille O'Neal suffer any injuries while playing with the Heat? | Shaquille O'Neal | On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004-05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history. Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount. In the second game of the 2005-06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005-06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. CANNOTANSWER | O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. | Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a 7 ft 1 in and 325 lb center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007-2008 Season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season before retiring.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.
Early life
O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."
O'Neal came from a tall familyhis biological father stood and his mother was tall. By age 13, O'Neal was already tall. O'Neal credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.
After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to , and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.
College career
After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University (LSU). He had first met Tigers coach Dale Brown years earlier in Europe when O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
Rookie of the Year (1992–1993)
The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. In the summer before moving to Orlando, he spent time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal wore number 32 because Terry Catledge refused to relinquish the 33 jersey. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season, but missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."
First playoff appearance (1993–1994)
In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as the Pacers swept the Magic.
First scoring title and injury (1994–1996)
In O'Neal's third season, 1994–95, he led the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.
O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
First years in LA (1996–1999)
O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates teased him over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.
On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, the media announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."
The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.
With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.
Championship seasons (1999–2002)
In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired."
In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the LA Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game is the most recent game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer.
O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.
In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.
A month before the training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him.
In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.
Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work."
After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.
Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.
Toe surgery to departure (2002–2004)
O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. At the end of the season, the Lakers had fallen to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003.
For the 2003-04 season, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of two aging stars—forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton—but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either player nearly as much money as he could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant. The feud climaxed during training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Bryant, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized O'Neal for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the team.
The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004 and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding". After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki in return but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest, and eventually the two clubs agreed on a trade. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
Miami Heat (2004–2008)
First year in Miami (2004–2005)
On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (the Lakers used the draft choice to select Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. O'Neal made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.
Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal.
In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.
Fourth championship (2005–2006)
In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.
On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2–0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3–2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first-ever NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Heat were underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal's fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.
Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)
In the , O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "Benedict Arnold". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.
Career lows and disagreements (2007–2008)
O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.
O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points while starting all 28 games with the Suns.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9–37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008, against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."
In 28 regular season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, whom he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.
The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.
In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."
On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don't even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They're going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don't try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him. On February 25, 2010, O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play in time for the first round of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the second round. In September 2016, O'Neal said: "When I was in Cleveland, we were in first place. Big Baby [Glen Davis] breaks my hand and I had to sit out five weeks late in the year. I come back finally in the first round of the playoffs, and we lost to Boston in the second round. I was upset. I know for a fact if I was healthy, we would have gotten it done that year and won a ring." O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category during the 2009–10 season, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years.
Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment, nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.
O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.
On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short video on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.
National team career
While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led the Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Cup.
He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.
After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the 1999 FIBA AmeriCup squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.
Player profile
O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
At , and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents. On two occasions during his first season in the NBA, his powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports, prompting the league to increase the brace strength and stability of the backboards for the following 1993–94 season.
O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.
Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.
O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.
O'Neal only made one three-point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three-point-shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).
O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.
Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.
On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Off the court
Media personality
O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.
During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.
O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens". During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven-game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.
He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said many Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career.
During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.
O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.
O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in two sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."
Legal issues
In August 2010, O'Neal was sued by his personal IT technician, Shawn Darling, after O'Neal had allegedly attempted to plant child pornography on Darling's computer. Darling claimed that O'Neal had originally tried to protect himself by hacking his mistresses' voicemails and deleting relevant messages. Darling also alleged that O'Neal had used law enforcement contacts to obtain restricted information on those mistresses, and that O'Neal subsequently threw his laptop into a lake to destroy possible evidence.
In April 2014, O'Neal posted a photo on Instagram that showed himself mocking Jahmel Binion who suffers from Ectodermal dysplasia. O'Neal issued a public apology, stating that he and Binion had spoken and that he's "made a friend today". Binion would however go on to sue O'Neal for a sum larger than $25,000.
Education
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU, with a minor in political science. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.
In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".
O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.
Law enforcement
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.
In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.
In June 2008, the Bedford County, Virginia and Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff departments revoked O'Neal special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about Kobe Bryant and using racial slurs.
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.
Music career
Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.
O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.
Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.
O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU. Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.
In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.
On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Acting
Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in films that were panned by some critics.
O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.
O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boy for Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" and the video for Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men film series, but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.
He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (2002; episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (1997; episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (2014; episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie (2014). He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2.
Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.
O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.
Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.
O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.
O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.
O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.
On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.
In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We're even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We're specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."
Advertising
O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; Buick commercials; The General insurance commercials; Papa John's pizza commercials; Hulu commercials; Epson printer commercials; and IcyHot commercials, among others.
Mixed martial arts
O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Choi replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010, in an interview at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for four different promotions. His favorite wrestlers are Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, André the Giant, and Brock Lesnar.
In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.
In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first-ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Big Show and O'Neal had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which O'Neal accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. After weeks of discussion, the match was cancelled. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show later stated it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that caused the cancellation.
On the November 11, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill interrupted Cody Rhodes and teased the arrival of O'Neal in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He made a cameo appearance on Being The Elite and it was later confirmed that O'Neal had been appearing backstage at recent AEW tapings, including Full Gear. He appeared on the December 9 episode of AEW Dynamite and addressed AEW in a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone and Brandi Rhodes. At the end of the interview, O'Neal got water thrown on him by Brandi after telling her to get pointers from Cargill, who had broken Brandi's arm several weeks ago. On the March 3, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled The Crossroads, O'Neal teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. During the match, O'Neal paid tribute to Brodie Lee with his signature gesture and powerbomb and was driven through two tables by Cody, who hit O'Neal with a flying crossbody tackle as O'Neal was standing on the ring apron, knocking O'Neal through the tables that were set up at ringside.
Business ventures
O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.
In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.
O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.
In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings. In January 2022, O'Neal sold his stake in the Kings.
In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.
O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.
In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. O'Neal is also the global spokesperson for the company.
In 2018, O'Neal created his part music festival, circus and carnival, Shaq's Fun House, in partnership with Medium Rare, which is held annually. The event usually features celebrity DJ's and performers.
In early 2019 O'Neal joined the Papa John's board of directors and invested in nine stores in the Atlanta area. In addition, he became the spokesperson for the company as part of the three-year contract.
Personal life
O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
Marriage
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple has four children: Shareef (b. January 11, 2000), Amirah (b. November 13, 2001), Shaqir (b. April 19, 2003), and Me'arah (b. May 1, 2006). Nelson also has one son from a previous relationship, Myles. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. Shareef, later rated as a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, had committed to play college basketball at the University of Arizona, but rescinded the commitment in February 2018 after Arizona head coach Sean Miller was linked to potential major violations of NCAA recruiting rules.
Other relationships
O'Neal has a daughter named Taahirah O'Neal (b. July 19, 1996) from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts and later split in August 2012.
O'Neal began dating Laticia Rolle, a model, originally from Gardner, Massachusetts in early 2014. They later split in March 2018.
Outside of basketball
In June 2005 when Hall of Fame center George Mikan died, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.
O'Neal is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Prince Hall Freemason.
On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014, O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.
O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement. He participated in a virtual rally for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and voted for the first time during the 2020 presidential election.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 37.9 || .562 || .000 || .592 || 13.9 || 1.9 || .7 || 3.5 || 23.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 39.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .599* || .000 || .554 || 13.2 || 2.4 || .9 || 2.9 || 29.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 79 || 79 || 37.0 || .583 || .000 || .533 || 11.4 || 2.7 || .9 || 2.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.3*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 54 || 52 || 36.0 || .573 || .500 || .487 || 11.0 || 2.9 || .6 || 2.1 || 26.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 51 || 51 || 38.1 || .557 || .000 || .484 || 12.5 || 3.1 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 60 || 57 || 36.3 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .527 || 11.4 || 2.4 || .7 || 2.4 || 28.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 49 || 49 || 34.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .576* || .000 || .540 || 10.7 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 26.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 79 || 79 || 40.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .574* || .000 || .524 || 13.6 || 3.8 || .5 || 3.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.7*
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 74 || 74 || 39.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .572* || .000 || .513 || 12.7 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 28.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 36.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .579* || .000 || .555 || 10.7 || 3.0 || .6 || 2.0 || 27.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 37.8 || .574 || .000 || .622 || 11.1 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 27.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 67 || 36.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .490 || 11.5 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.5 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 73 || 73 || 34.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .601* || .000 || .461 || 10.4 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.3 || 22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 59 || 58 || 30.6 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .600* || .000 || .469 || 9.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.8 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 40 || 39 || 28.4 || .591 || .000 || .422 || 7.4 || 2.0 || .2 || 1.4 || 17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 33 || 33 || 28.6 || .581 || .000 || .494 || 7.8 || 1.4 || .6 || 1.6 || 14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 28 || 28 || 28.7 || .611 || .000 || .513 || 10.6 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.2 || 12.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 75 || 75 || 30.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .609* || .000 || .595 || 8.4 || 1.7 || .6 || 1.4 || 17.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 53 || 53 || 23.4 || .566 || .000 || .496 || 6.7 || 1.5 || .3 || 1.2 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 37 || 36 || 20.3 || .667 || .000 || .557 || 4.8 || .7 || .4 || 1.1 || 9.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,207 || 1,197 || 34.7 || .582 || .045 || .527 || 10.9 || 2.5 || .6 || 2.3 || 23.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 12 || 9 || 22.8 || .551 || .000 || .452 || 8.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 16.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .511 || .000 || .471 || 13.3 || 2.3 || .7 || 3.0 || 20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 21 || 21 || 38.3 || .577 || .000 || .571 || 11.9 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.9 || 25.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 12 || 12 || 38.3 || .606 || .000 || .393 || 10.0 || 4.6 || .8 || 1.3 || 25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 9 || 9 || 36.2 || .514 || .000 || .610 || 10.6 || 3.2 || .6 || 1.9 || 26.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 13 || 13 || 38.5 || .612 || .000 || .503 || 10.2 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.6 || 30.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .510 || .000 || .466 || 11.6 || 2.3 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2000†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 23 || 23 || 43.5 || .566 || .000 || .456 || 15.4 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 30.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 16 || 16 || 42.3 || .555 || .000 || .525 || 15.4 || 3.2 || .4 || 2.4 || 30.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 19 || 19 || 40.8 || .529 || .000 || .649 || 12.6 || 2.8 || .5 || 2.5 || 28.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 12 || 12 || 40.1 || .535 || .000 || .621 || 14.8 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 27.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 22 || 22 || 41.7 || .593 || .000 || .429 || 13.2 || 2.5 || .3 || 2.8 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 13 || 13 || 33.2 || .558 || .000 || .472 || 7.8 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.5 || 19.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006†
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 23 || 23 || 33.0 || .612 || .000 || .374 || 9.8 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.5 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 4 || 4 || 30.3 || .559 || .000 || .333 || 8.5 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.5 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 5 || 5 || 30.0 || .440 || .000 || .500 || 9.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.6 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 11 || 11 || 22.1 || .516 || .000 || .660 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 1.2 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 216 || 214 || 37.5 || .563 || .000 || .504 || 11.6 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 24.3
Discography
Studio albums
Shaq Diesel (1993)
Shaq Fu: Da Return (1994)
You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
Respect (1998)
Unreleased albums
Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001)
Filmography
Television credits
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Shaq Attaq! (1994)
A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
Shaq Talks Back (2002)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
See also
List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
Highest-paid NBA players by season
Shaq–Kobe feud
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
List of NCAA Division I basketball players with 5 or more career triple-doubles
List of Freemasons
References
External links
Shaquille O'Neal at Louisiana State
1972 births
Living people
1994 FIBA World Championship players
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
A&M Records artists
African-American basketball players
African-American businesspeople
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male professional wrestlers
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
African-American sports journalists
African-American television personalities
All-American college men's basketball players
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American Freemasons
American investors
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male rappers
American men podcasters
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
American podcasters
American Prince Hall Freemasons
American real estate businesspeople
American stock traders
Barry University alumni
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey
Basketball players from San Antonio
Boston Celtics players
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Texas
Businesspeople in technology
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
East Coast hip hop musicians
Esports team owners
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA World Championship-winning players
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
Los Angeles Lakers players
LSU Tigers basketball players
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Male actors from San Antonio
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Miami Heat players
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
Musicians from San Antonio
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
New York Film Academy alumni
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Participants in American reality television series
Phoenix Suns players
Professional wrestlers from New Jersey
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Rappers from New Jersey
Rappers from Newark, New Jersey
Rappers from San Antonio
Sacramento Kings owners
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
United States men's national basketball team players
University of Phoenix alumni | true | [
"Johannes Kinnvall (born July 28, 1997) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with the Stockton Heat in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).\n\nPlaying career\nWhile playing for Brynäs IF, Kinnvall made his Swedish Hockey League debut during the 2016–17 SHL season.\n\nOn 29 April 2020, Kinnvall was signed a two-year entry level contract with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. That same day it was announced that he would spend the first year of the contract to continue on loan with HV71 of the SHL.\n\nCareer statistics\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1997 births\nLiving people\nBrynäs IF players\nHV71 players\nStockton Heat players\nSwedish ice hockey defencemen\nTimrå IK players",
"James Arthur Jackson (born October 14, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. Over his 14 National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons, Jackson was on the active roster of 12 different teams, tying the league record shared with Joe Smith, Tony Massenburg, Chucky Brown, and Ish Smith. He is currently a basketball analyst for Fox Sports, Turner Sports and the LA Clippers on Bally Sports West, having previously worked for the Big Ten Network.\n\nHigh school career\nJackson was a 6'6\" (198 cm), shooting guard who started all four years at Macomber High School in Toledo, Ohio. The former McDonald's All American led Macomber to the 1989 Division I state championship over Cleveland St. Joseph. He was high school teammates with former NFL safety Myron Bell.\n\nCollege career\nJackson was a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes. He instantly contributed, starting as a freshman for the 1989–90 season and averaging 16.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. He played two more seasons through the 1991–92 season, earning consensus First Team All American honors in 1991 and 1992 UPI college basketball, and the UPI player of the year in 1992.\n\nJackson's number (22) was retired at Ohio State in February 2001.\n\nNBA career\n\nDallas Mavericks\nJackson skipped his final year of college eligibility and was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the fourth overall pick of the 1992 NBA draft after his junior season at OSU.\n\nJackson's rookie year was abbreviated due to a lengthy contract dispute where he held out for most of the season. As a result, he appeared in only 28 games in his first season in the league. He started in all 82 games the following season, averaging 19.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 37.4 minutes per game. With the drafting of Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd in the following two seasons, the trio was nicknamed the \"Three J's\".\n\nDuring the 1994–95 season, Jackson averaged 25.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, finishing fifth in the NBA in scoring. However, he suffered an ankle injury after 51 games that year. He came back to average 19.6 points in 1995–96. However, controversy surrounded the Mavericks as a rift between Jason Kidd and Jackson emerged; unsubstantiated rumors pointed to a love triangle between Kidd, Jackson, and singer Toni Braxton. In the middle of the 1996–97 season, Jackson was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with Sam Cassell, Eric Montross, George McCloud, and Chris Gatling for Shawn Bradley, Ed O'Bannon, Robert Pack, and Khalid Reeves.\n\nNew Jersey Nets\nJackson played and started in only 31 games with the Nets to finish the 1996–97 season season averaging 16.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game with them.\n\nThe following offseason, the Nets coveted a college prospect, forward Keith Van Horn out of Utah. In a bidding war with the Chicago Bulls among other teams, they traded Jackson along with Eric Montross and their two first-round picks, Tim Thomas and Anthony Parker, to the Philadelphia 76ers for Michael Cage, Don MacLean, Lucious Harris, and the rights to Van Horn, the second overall pick in the 1997 draft.\n\nPhiladelphia 76ers\nJackson played in 48 games for the 76ers in the 1997–98 season averaging 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game with decreased minutes from previous seasons. Jackson was reported to be unhappy with his reduced role and shooting while playing with Allen Iverson, who was viewed as the 76ers' franchise player.\n\nIn the middle of the 1997–98 season, the 76ers traded Jackson along with Clarence Weatherspoon to the Golden State Warriors for Joe Smith and Brian Shaw. All four players were free agents at the end of the season, with the 76ers fearing an inabiity to re-sign Jackson and the Warriors fearing an inability to re-sign Smith.\n\nGolden State Warriors\nAlthough Jackson saw an increased role as the Warriors' starting shooting guard, averaging 18.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 40.6 minutes per game for the remainder of the 1997–98 season, he disliked playing for a losing franchise. In the offseason, Jackson signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.\n\nPortland Trail Blazers\nJackson was limited in the 1998–99 season with numerous injuries. He averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 24 minutes per game, statistical career lows for him at that time.\n\nDespite having talent and depth, the Trail Blazers were plagued by injuries, attitude problems on the court, and legal problems off the court. In an effort to clean up their image and team chemistry in the 1999 offseason, the Trail Blazers traded or chose not to re-sign many of their players. Jackson, and talented but troubled Isaiah Rider were both traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Steve Smith and Ed Gray.\n\nAtlanta Hawks\nFor the 1999–2000 season, Jackson played in 79 games for the Hawks averaging 16.7 points and 5 rebounds per 35 minutes. Jackson suited up for only 17 games for the Hawks in the 2000–01 season.\n\nAfter voicing his displeasure with losing, Jackson was traded with Larry Robinson and Anthony Johnson in January 2001 to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Brevin Knight.\n\nCleveland Cavaliers\nHailing from nearby Toledo and a product of Ohio State, Jackson's trade to the Cavaliers was viewed as a homecoming of sorts. Additionally, Jackson was happy to be part of a team that, as an early-season success story, was eyeing the playoffs for the 2000–01 season despite a run of injuries to a number of key players. Playing in 39 games and starting only 26 of them, Jackson's statistics for the Cavaliers were modest, 10.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in only 29.2 minutes per game. The Cavaliers went on to finish 30-52 and miss the playoffs that season. Jackson did not receive an offer from the Cavaliers or any other team in the following offseason.\n\nMiami Heat\nAt the start of 2001–02 season, Jackson did not have a team, but signed with the Miami Heat in December 2001. The Heat, already with a shallow bench, signed Jackson to mitigate the effects of injuries to key players. Jackson averaged 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in 33.2 minutes per game, appearing as a starter in some games as injuries warranted. Again, Jackson did not receive an offer from Miami or any other team in the following offseason.\n\nSacramento Kings\nFor the start of 2002–03 season, Jackson again did not have a team. For the second straight season, he did not play in the month of November. Jackson eventually signed with the Sacramento Kings in December 2002 to bolster their bench. In 63 games off the bench, Jackson averaged 7.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in only 20.8 minutes per game; however, he played well during crucial moments of games, eventually unseating Hedo Türkoğlu as the sixth man on the team. Jackson saw his stock rise, and as a free agent, received a two-year offer from the Houston Rockets the following offseason.\n\nHouston Rockets/New Orleans Hornets\nJackson played in 80 games for the 2003–04 season, starting in all of them. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 39 minutes per game. He returned for the 2004–05 season, again putting up decent statistics as a starter for the first 24 games.\n\nDespite averaging 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 41.3 minutes per game, the Rockets dealt Jackson along with Bostjan Nachbar to the New Orleans Hornets for David Wesley. Although Hornets general manager Allan Bristow looked forward to the additions of Nachbar and Jackson, Jackson refused to report to the Hornets, an act for which he was suspended. Without ever appearing in a Hornets uniform, Jackson was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Maciej Lampe, Casey Jacobsen, and Jackson Vroman.\n\nPhoenix Suns\nJackson finished the 2004–05 season with the Suns averaging a modest 8.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per 24.9 minutes per game. With starting shooting guard Joe Johnson injured, Jackson stepped up his play in the postseason, helping Phoenix reach the Western Conference final. Although re-signed in the following offseason, Jackson was waived at the beginning of March 2006 after spending nearly two months on the bench without playing any minutes. Jackson averaged career lows of 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per 15.6 minutes in 27 games. Immediately after being waived, Jackson was claimed by the Los Angeles Lakers.\n\nLos Angeles Lakers\nJackson finished the 2005–06 season with the Lakers, playing in only 13 games with averages of 1.7 points and .9 rebounds per 7 minutes. Jackson did not receive an offer to sign with any team in the following offseason, marking the end of his career. He was the last player on the Lakers to wear #24 before Kobe Bryant.\n\nPersonal\nDuring much of his career, Jackson wore a sweatband on his arm with the numbers \"419\" (which refer to the North American telephone area code 419 that serves Toledo and most of northwest Ohio) to represent where he is from. His son Traevon Jackson played the point guard position for Wisconsin from 2011 to 2015, reaching two Final Fours.\n\nNotes\n\nExternal links\n \n expanded profile at NBA.com\n\nLove Triangle between Kidd, Braxton, and Jackson\n https://www.nba.com/clippers/news/bally-sports-socal-announces-la-clippers-2021-22-broadcast-schedule\n\n1970 births\nLiving people\n20th-century African-American sportspeople\n21st-century African-American sportspeople\nAfrican-American basketball players\nAll-American college men's basketball players\nAmerican men's basketball players\nAtlanta Hawks players\nBasketball players at the 1991 Pan American Games\nBasketball players from Ohio\nCleveland Cavaliers players\nCollege basketball announcers in the United States\nDallas Mavericks draft picks\nDallas Mavericks players\nFox Sports 1 people\nGolden State Warriors players\nHouston Rockets players\nLos Angeles Lakers players\nMcDonald's High School All-Americans\nMedalists at the 1991 Pan American Games\nMiami Heat players\nNew Jersey Nets players\nOhio State Buckeyes men's basketball players\nPan American Games bronze medalists for the United States\nPan American Games medalists in basketball\nParade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)\nPhiladelphia 76ers players\nPhoenix Suns players\nPortland Trail Blazers players\nSacramento Kings players\nShooting guards\nSportspeople from Toledo, Ohio"
]
|
[
"Shaquille O'Neal",
"Miami Heat (2004-2008)",
"When did Shaq go to the Miami Heat?",
"On July 14, 2004,",
"How many games did he play with the Heat?",
"He played in 73 games,",
"What were his stats?",
"averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.",
"Did he win any awards?",
"won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March.",
"What was it about his performance that was so good?",
"O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.",
"Did he suffer any injuries while playing with the Heat?",
"O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games."
]
| C_5d6902ae12f84f88bc10e0405af46e83_0 | How did he do when he returned? | 7 | How did Shaquille O'Neal do when he returned? | Shaquille O'Neal | On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004-05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history. Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount. In the second game of the 2005-06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005-06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a 7 ft 1 in and 325 lb center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007-2008 Season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season before retiring.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.
Early life
O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."
O'Neal came from a tall familyhis biological father stood and his mother was tall. By age 13, O'Neal was already tall. O'Neal credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.
After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to , and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.
College career
After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University (LSU). He had first met Tigers coach Dale Brown years earlier in Europe when O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
Rookie of the Year (1992–1993)
The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. In the summer before moving to Orlando, he spent time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal wore number 32 because Terry Catledge refused to relinquish the 33 jersey. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season, but missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."
First playoff appearance (1993–1994)
In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as the Pacers swept the Magic.
First scoring title and injury (1994–1996)
In O'Neal's third season, 1994–95, he led the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.
O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
First years in LA (1996–1999)
O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates teased him over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.
On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, the media announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."
The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.
With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.
Championship seasons (1999–2002)
In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired."
In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the LA Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game is the most recent game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer.
O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.
In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.
A month before the training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him.
In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.
Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work."
After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.
Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.
Toe surgery to departure (2002–2004)
O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. At the end of the season, the Lakers had fallen to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003.
For the 2003-04 season, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of two aging stars—forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton—but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either player nearly as much money as he could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant. The feud climaxed during training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Bryant, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized O'Neal for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the team.
The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004 and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding". After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki in return but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest, and eventually the two clubs agreed on a trade. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
Miami Heat (2004–2008)
First year in Miami (2004–2005)
On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (the Lakers used the draft choice to select Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. O'Neal made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.
Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal.
In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.
Fourth championship (2005–2006)
In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.
On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2–0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3–2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first-ever NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Heat were underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal's fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.
Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)
In the , O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "Benedict Arnold". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.
Career lows and disagreements (2007–2008)
O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.
O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points while starting all 28 games with the Suns.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9–37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008, against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."
In 28 regular season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, whom he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.
The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.
In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."
On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don't even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They're going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don't try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him. On February 25, 2010, O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play in time for the first round of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the second round. In September 2016, O'Neal said: "When I was in Cleveland, we were in first place. Big Baby [Glen Davis] breaks my hand and I had to sit out five weeks late in the year. I come back finally in the first round of the playoffs, and we lost to Boston in the second round. I was upset. I know for a fact if I was healthy, we would have gotten it done that year and won a ring." O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category during the 2009–10 season, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years.
Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment, nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.
O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.
On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short video on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.
National team career
While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led the Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Cup.
He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.
After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the 1999 FIBA AmeriCup squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.
Player profile
O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
At , and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents. On two occasions during his first season in the NBA, his powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports, prompting the league to increase the brace strength and stability of the backboards for the following 1993–94 season.
O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.
Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.
O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.
O'Neal only made one three-point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three-point-shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).
O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.
Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.
On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Off the court
Media personality
O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.
During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.
O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens". During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven-game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.
He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said many Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career.
During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.
O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.
O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in two sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."
Legal issues
In August 2010, O'Neal was sued by his personal IT technician, Shawn Darling, after O'Neal had allegedly attempted to plant child pornography on Darling's computer. Darling claimed that O'Neal had originally tried to protect himself by hacking his mistresses' voicemails and deleting relevant messages. Darling also alleged that O'Neal had used law enforcement contacts to obtain restricted information on those mistresses, and that O'Neal subsequently threw his laptop into a lake to destroy possible evidence.
In April 2014, O'Neal posted a photo on Instagram that showed himself mocking Jahmel Binion who suffers from Ectodermal dysplasia. O'Neal issued a public apology, stating that he and Binion had spoken and that he's "made a friend today". Binion would however go on to sue O'Neal for a sum larger than $25,000.
Education
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU, with a minor in political science. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.
In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".
O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.
Law enforcement
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.
In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.
In June 2008, the Bedford County, Virginia and Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff departments revoked O'Neal special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about Kobe Bryant and using racial slurs.
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.
Music career
Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.
O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.
Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.
O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU. Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.
In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.
On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Acting
Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in films that were panned by some critics.
O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.
O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boy for Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" and the video for Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men film series, but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.
He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (2002; episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (1997; episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (2014; episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie (2014). He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2.
Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.
O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.
Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.
O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.
O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.
O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.
On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.
In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We're even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We're specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."
Advertising
O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; Buick commercials; The General insurance commercials; Papa John's pizza commercials; Hulu commercials; Epson printer commercials; and IcyHot commercials, among others.
Mixed martial arts
O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Choi replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010, in an interview at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for four different promotions. His favorite wrestlers are Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, André the Giant, and Brock Lesnar.
In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.
In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first-ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Big Show and O'Neal had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which O'Neal accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. After weeks of discussion, the match was cancelled. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show later stated it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that caused the cancellation.
On the November 11, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill interrupted Cody Rhodes and teased the arrival of O'Neal in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He made a cameo appearance on Being The Elite and it was later confirmed that O'Neal had been appearing backstage at recent AEW tapings, including Full Gear. He appeared on the December 9 episode of AEW Dynamite and addressed AEW in a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone and Brandi Rhodes. At the end of the interview, O'Neal got water thrown on him by Brandi after telling her to get pointers from Cargill, who had broken Brandi's arm several weeks ago. On the March 3, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled The Crossroads, O'Neal teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. During the match, O'Neal paid tribute to Brodie Lee with his signature gesture and powerbomb and was driven through two tables by Cody, who hit O'Neal with a flying crossbody tackle as O'Neal was standing on the ring apron, knocking O'Neal through the tables that were set up at ringside.
Business ventures
O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.
In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.
O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.
In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings. In January 2022, O'Neal sold his stake in the Kings.
In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.
O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.
In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. O'Neal is also the global spokesperson for the company.
In 2018, O'Neal created his part music festival, circus and carnival, Shaq's Fun House, in partnership with Medium Rare, which is held annually. The event usually features celebrity DJ's and performers.
In early 2019 O'Neal joined the Papa John's board of directors and invested in nine stores in the Atlanta area. In addition, he became the spokesperson for the company as part of the three-year contract.
Personal life
O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
Marriage
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple has four children: Shareef (b. January 11, 2000), Amirah (b. November 13, 2001), Shaqir (b. April 19, 2003), and Me'arah (b. May 1, 2006). Nelson also has one son from a previous relationship, Myles. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. Shareef, later rated as a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, had committed to play college basketball at the University of Arizona, but rescinded the commitment in February 2018 after Arizona head coach Sean Miller was linked to potential major violations of NCAA recruiting rules.
Other relationships
O'Neal has a daughter named Taahirah O'Neal (b. July 19, 1996) from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts and later split in August 2012.
O'Neal began dating Laticia Rolle, a model, originally from Gardner, Massachusetts in early 2014. They later split in March 2018.
Outside of basketball
In June 2005 when Hall of Fame center George Mikan died, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.
O'Neal is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Prince Hall Freemason.
On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014, O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.
O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement. He participated in a virtual rally for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and voted for the first time during the 2020 presidential election.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 37.9 || .562 || .000 || .592 || 13.9 || 1.9 || .7 || 3.5 || 23.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 39.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .599* || .000 || .554 || 13.2 || 2.4 || .9 || 2.9 || 29.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 79 || 79 || 37.0 || .583 || .000 || .533 || 11.4 || 2.7 || .9 || 2.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.3*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 54 || 52 || 36.0 || .573 || .500 || .487 || 11.0 || 2.9 || .6 || 2.1 || 26.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 51 || 51 || 38.1 || .557 || .000 || .484 || 12.5 || 3.1 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 60 || 57 || 36.3 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .527 || 11.4 || 2.4 || .7 || 2.4 || 28.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 49 || 49 || 34.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .576* || .000 || .540 || 10.7 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 26.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 79 || 79 || 40.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .574* || .000 || .524 || 13.6 || 3.8 || .5 || 3.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.7*
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 74 || 74 || 39.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .572* || .000 || .513 || 12.7 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 28.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 36.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .579* || .000 || .555 || 10.7 || 3.0 || .6 || 2.0 || 27.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 37.8 || .574 || .000 || .622 || 11.1 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 27.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 67 || 36.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .490 || 11.5 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.5 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 73 || 73 || 34.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .601* || .000 || .461 || 10.4 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.3 || 22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 59 || 58 || 30.6 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .600* || .000 || .469 || 9.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.8 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 40 || 39 || 28.4 || .591 || .000 || .422 || 7.4 || 2.0 || .2 || 1.4 || 17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 33 || 33 || 28.6 || .581 || .000 || .494 || 7.8 || 1.4 || .6 || 1.6 || 14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 28 || 28 || 28.7 || .611 || .000 || .513 || 10.6 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.2 || 12.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 75 || 75 || 30.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .609* || .000 || .595 || 8.4 || 1.7 || .6 || 1.4 || 17.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 53 || 53 || 23.4 || .566 || .000 || .496 || 6.7 || 1.5 || .3 || 1.2 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 37 || 36 || 20.3 || .667 || .000 || .557 || 4.8 || .7 || .4 || 1.1 || 9.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,207 || 1,197 || 34.7 || .582 || .045 || .527 || 10.9 || 2.5 || .6 || 2.3 || 23.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 12 || 9 || 22.8 || .551 || .000 || .452 || 8.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 16.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .511 || .000 || .471 || 13.3 || 2.3 || .7 || 3.0 || 20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 21 || 21 || 38.3 || .577 || .000 || .571 || 11.9 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.9 || 25.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 12 || 12 || 38.3 || .606 || .000 || .393 || 10.0 || 4.6 || .8 || 1.3 || 25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 9 || 9 || 36.2 || .514 || .000 || .610 || 10.6 || 3.2 || .6 || 1.9 || 26.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 13 || 13 || 38.5 || .612 || .000 || .503 || 10.2 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.6 || 30.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .510 || .000 || .466 || 11.6 || 2.3 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2000†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 23 || 23 || 43.5 || .566 || .000 || .456 || 15.4 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 30.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 16 || 16 || 42.3 || .555 || .000 || .525 || 15.4 || 3.2 || .4 || 2.4 || 30.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 19 || 19 || 40.8 || .529 || .000 || .649 || 12.6 || 2.8 || .5 || 2.5 || 28.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 12 || 12 || 40.1 || .535 || .000 || .621 || 14.8 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 27.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 22 || 22 || 41.7 || .593 || .000 || .429 || 13.2 || 2.5 || .3 || 2.8 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 13 || 13 || 33.2 || .558 || .000 || .472 || 7.8 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.5 || 19.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006†
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 23 || 23 || 33.0 || .612 || .000 || .374 || 9.8 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.5 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 4 || 4 || 30.3 || .559 || .000 || .333 || 8.5 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.5 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 5 || 5 || 30.0 || .440 || .000 || .500 || 9.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.6 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 11 || 11 || 22.1 || .516 || .000 || .660 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 1.2 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 216 || 214 || 37.5 || .563 || .000 || .504 || 11.6 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 24.3
Discography
Studio albums
Shaq Diesel (1993)
Shaq Fu: Da Return (1994)
You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
Respect (1998)
Unreleased albums
Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001)
Filmography
Television credits
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Shaq Attaq! (1994)
A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
Shaq Talks Back (2002)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
See also
List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
Highest-paid NBA players by season
Shaq–Kobe feud
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
List of NCAA Division I basketball players with 5 or more career triple-doubles
List of Freemasons
References
External links
Shaquille O'Neal at Louisiana State
1972 births
Living people
1994 FIBA World Championship players
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
A&M Records artists
African-American basketball players
African-American businesspeople
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male professional wrestlers
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
African-American sports journalists
African-American television personalities
All-American college men's basketball players
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American Freemasons
American investors
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male rappers
American men podcasters
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
American podcasters
American Prince Hall Freemasons
American real estate businesspeople
American stock traders
Barry University alumni
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey
Basketball players from San Antonio
Boston Celtics players
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Texas
Businesspeople in technology
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
East Coast hip hop musicians
Esports team owners
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA World Championship-winning players
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
Los Angeles Lakers players
LSU Tigers basketball players
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Male actors from San Antonio
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Miami Heat players
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
Musicians from San Antonio
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
New York Film Academy alumni
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Participants in American reality television series
Phoenix Suns players
Professional wrestlers from New Jersey
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Rappers from New Jersey
Rappers from Newark, New Jersey
Rappers from San Antonio
Sacramento Kings owners
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
United States men's national basketball team players
University of Phoenix alumni | false | [
"\"How Do I Breathe\" is a song recorded by American singer Mario. It is the first single from his third studio album Go. The single was released on May 15, 2007. It was produced by Norwegian production team Stargate. On the issue date of July 7, 2007, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 91. \"How Do I Breathe\" also debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 30 on download sales alone, the day before the physical release of the song. It also became Mario's last charting single in the UK. The song also peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The official remix of the song features Fabolous and the second official remix features Cassidy. A rare third one features both artists and switches between beats. The song was co-written by Mario.\n\nWriting and recording\nMario met Stargate, the producers from Norway. They met when Mario was overseas touring, and they talked about producing. They were up-and-coming at the time. Mario frequently heard their music on the radio and would later say he thought, \"Wow, I really like their music. These guys are classic.\" Mario and Stargate made two songs, which they collaborated on with Ne-Yo, but they did not make the cut. Then they did two more songs, which Mario co-wrote, one of which was \"How Do I Breathe\". Mario said: \"The truth is that I felt like the track already had a story to tell; but that there had to be a certain flow over the record. I had to show some vulnerability, and that is what the record is about. It's about being vulnerable and knowing that you lost something that so essential to your life. I'd say it's about 75% true to life, and the rest is just creative writing.\"\n\nCritical reception\nMark Edward Nero of About.com says \"The track isn't particularly groundbreaking, but it has a simple charm, in a sort of Ne-Yo meets Toni Braxton kind of way\".\n\nAaron Fields of KSTW.com stated: \"First single off the album, yet didn't have the success like \"Let me love you\" did. I remember thinking he was definitely back when I heard this song. I'm not sure why this song didn't get more attention as it is one of the better songs done by him, nevertheless I probably would have picked this for the first single as well. I still bump this one in the car.\"\n\nMusic video\nThe video was directed by Melina and premiered on BET's Access Granted on May 23, 2007. One scene where Mario is dressed in a white t-shirt while singing in smoke, is similar to the scene in Kanye West's video \"Touch the Sky\". After its premiere, \"How Do I Breathe\" received heavy airplay on BET's music video countdown show 106 & Park. It also appeared at number 87 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007 countdown.\n\nVariations of \"How Do I Breathe\"\nAfter the song was released, there were two different variations that were available. The official version provided by Sony BMG, which was included within the official music video, has different lyrics than the one obtained via a peer-to-peer file sharing network. The specific difference in the lyrics is seen within the bridge of the song near the end.\n\nIn the official version, the bridge's lyrics are as follows:\"Ooh, I should've brought my love home, girl.And baby, I ain't perfect you know.The grind has got a tight hold.Girl, come back to me ... Cause girl you made it hard to breathe...When you're not with me...\"\nIn the other version obtained via a file sharing network, the bridge's lyrics are:\"Ooh, I can't get over you, no.Baby I don't wanna let go.Girl, you need to come home.Back to me ... Cause girl you made it hard to breathe...When you're not with me...\"\n\nThe other version obtained over a file sharing network also features a shout out to former NFL running back Shaun Alexander by an untold DJ near the end of the track.\n\nIn other media\nOn July 16, 2008, Kourtni Lind and Matt Dorame from the US television reality program and dance competition So You Think You Can Dance danced to \"How Do I Breathe\" as the part of the competition.\n\nTrack listing\nUK CD:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Full Phat remix featuring Rhymefest)\n\nPromo CD:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (instrumental)\n\nHow Do I Breathe, Pt. 2:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Full Phat Remix featuring Rhymefest)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Allister Whitehead Remix)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (video)\n\nCD single\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit) – 3:38\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (instrumental) – 3:38\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (call out hook) – 0:10\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n2006 songs\n2007 singles\nMario (American singer) songs\nJ Records singles\nMusic videos directed by Melina Matsoukas\nSong recordings produced by Stargate (record producers)\nSongs written by Tor Erik Hermansen\nSongs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen",
"Follow Me! is a series of television programmes produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk and the BBC in the late 1970s to provide a crash course in the English language. It became popular in many overseas countries as a first introduction to English; in 1983, one hundred million people watched the show in China alone, featuring Kathy Flower.\n\nThe British actor Francis Matthews hosted and narrated the series.\n\nThe course consists of sixty lessons. Each lesson lasts from 12 to 15 minutes and covers a specific lexis. The lessons follow a consistent group of actors, with the relationships between their characters developing during the course.\n\nFollow Me! actors\n Francis Matthews\n Raymond Mason\n David Savile\n Ian Bamforth\n Keith Alexander\n Diane Mercer\n Jane Argyle\n Diana King\n Veronica Leigh\n Elaine Wells\n Danielle Cohn\n Lashawnda Bell\n\nEpisodes \n \"What's your name\"\n \"How are you\"\n \"Can you help me\"\n \"Left, right, straight ahead\"\n \"Where are they\"\n \"What's the time\"\n \"What's this What's that\"\n \"I like it very much\"\n \"Have you got any wine\"\n \"What are they doing\"\n \"Can I have your name, please\"\n \"What does she look like\"\n \"No smoking\"\n \"It's on the first floor\"\n \"Where's he gone\"\n \"Going away\"\n \"Buying things\"\n \"Why do you like it\"\n \"What do you need\"\n \"I sometimes work late\"\n \"Welcome to Britain\"\n \"Who's that\"\n \"What would you like to do\"\n \"How can I get there?\"\n \"Where is it\"\n \"What's the date\"\n \"Whose is it\"\n \"I enjoy it\"\n \"How many and how much\"\n \"What have you done\"\n \"Haven't we met before\"\n \"What did you say\"\n \"Please stop\"\n \"How can I get to Brightly\"\n \"Where can I get it\"\n \"There's a concert on Wednesday\"\n \"What's it like\"\n \"What do you think of him\"\n \"I need someone\"\n \"What were you doing\"\n \"What do you do\"\n \"What do you know about him\"\n \"You shouldn't do that\"\n \"I hope you enjoy your holiday\"\n \"Where can I see a football match\"\n \"When will it be ready\"\n \"Where did you go\"\n \"I think it's awful\"\n \"A room with a view\"\n \"You'll be ill\"\n \"I don't believe in strikes\"\n \"They look tired\"\n \"Would you like to\"\n \"Holiday plans\"\n \"The second shelf on the left\"\n \"When you are ready\"\n \"Tell them about Britain\"\n \"I liked everything\"\n \"Classical or modern\"\n \"Finale\"\n\nReferences \n\n BBC article about the series in China\n\nExternal links \n Follow Me – Beginner level \n Follow Me – Elementary level\n Follow Me – Intermediate level\n Follow Me – Advanced level\n\nAdult education television series\nEnglish-language education television programming"
]
|
[
"Shaquille O'Neal",
"Miami Heat (2004-2008)",
"When did Shaq go to the Miami Heat?",
"On July 14, 2004,",
"How many games did he play with the Heat?",
"He played in 73 games,",
"What were his stats?",
"averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.",
"Did he win any awards?",
"won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March.",
"What was it about his performance that was so good?",
"O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.",
"Did he suffer any injuries while playing with the Heat?",
"O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games.",
"How did he do when he returned?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_5d6902ae12f84f88bc10e0405af46e83_0 | What teams did he play against? | 8 | What teams did Shaquille O'Neal play against? | Shaquille O'Neal | On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004-05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history. Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount. In the second game of the 2005-06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005-06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005-06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage. CANNOTANSWER | Detroit Pistons, | Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a 7 ft 1 in and 325 lb center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007-2008 Season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season before retiring.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.
Early life
O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."
O'Neal came from a tall familyhis biological father stood and his mother was tall. By age 13, O'Neal was already tall. O'Neal credits the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.
After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to , and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.
College career
After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University (LSU). He had first met Tigers coach Dale Brown years earlier in Europe when O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
Rookie of the Year (1992–1993)
The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. In the summer before moving to Orlando, he spent time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. O'Neal wore number 32 because Terry Catledge refused to relinquish the 33 jersey. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season, but missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."
First playoff appearance (1993–1994)
In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as the Pacers swept the Magic.
First scoring title and injury (1994–1996)
In O'Neal's third season, 1994–95, he led the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first-ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.
O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
First years in LA (1996–1999)
O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates teased him over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.
On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, the media announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."
The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.
With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.
Championship seasons (1999–2002)
In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired."
In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the LA Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game is the most recent game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer.
O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.
In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.
A month before the training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him.
In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.
Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work."
After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.
Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.
Toe surgery to departure (2002–2004)
O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. At the end of the season, the Lakers had fallen to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003.
For the 2003-04 season, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of two aging stars—forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton—but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either player nearly as much money as he could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship. At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant. The feud climaxed during training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Bryant, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized O'Neal for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the team.
The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004 and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding". After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki in return but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest, and eventually the two clubs agreed on a trade. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
Miami Heat (2004–2008)
First year in Miami (2004–2005)
On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (the Lakers used the draft choice to select Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. O'Neal made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.
Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal.
In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.
Fourth championship (2005–2006)
In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. O'Neal later referred to Van Gundy as a "frontrunner" and a "master of panic." Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.
On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2–0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3–2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first-ever NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Heat were underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal's fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.
Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)
In the , O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "Benedict Arnold". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.
Career lows and disagreements (2007–2008)
O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.
O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points while starting all 28 games with the Suns.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9–37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008, against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."
In 28 regular season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, whom he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.
The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.
In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."
On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don't even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They're going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don't try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him. On February 25, 2010, O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play in time for the first round of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the second round. In September 2016, O'Neal said: "When I was in Cleveland, we were in first place. Big Baby [Glen Davis] breaks my hand and I had to sit out five weeks late in the year. I come back finally in the first round of the playoffs, and we lost to Boston in the second round. I was upset. I know for a fact if I was healthy, we would have gotten it done that year and won a ring." O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category during the 2009–10 season, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years.
Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment, nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.
O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.
On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short video on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.
National team career
While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led the Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Cup.
He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.
After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the 1999 FIBA AmeriCup squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.
Player profile
O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
At , and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents. On two occasions during his first season in the NBA, his powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports, prompting the league to increase the brace strength and stability of the backboards for the following 1993–94 season.
O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.
Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.
O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.
O'Neal only made one three-point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three-point-shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).
O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.
Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.
On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Off the court
Media personality
O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.
During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.
O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens". During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven-game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.
He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said many Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later expressed regret for the way he treated Yao early in his career.
During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.
O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.
O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in two sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."
Legal issues
In August 2010, O'Neal was sued by his personal IT technician, Shawn Darling, after O'Neal had allegedly attempted to plant child pornography on Darling's computer. Darling claimed that O'Neal had originally tried to protect himself by hacking his mistresses' voicemails and deleting relevant messages. Darling also alleged that O'Neal had used law enforcement contacts to obtain restricted information on those mistresses, and that O'Neal subsequently threw his laptop into a lake to destroy possible evidence.
In April 2014, O'Neal posted a photo on Instagram that showed himself mocking Jahmel Binion who suffers from Ectodermal dysplasia. O'Neal issued a public apology, stating that he and Binion had spoken and that he's "made a friend today". Binion would however go on to sue O'Neal for a sum larger than $25,000.
Education
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU, with a minor in political science. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.
In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".
O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.
Law enforcement
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.
In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.
In June 2008, the Bedford County, Virginia and Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff departments revoked O'Neal special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about Kobe Bryant and using racial slurs.
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.
Music career
Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.
O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.
Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.
O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU. Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.
In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.
On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Acting
Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in films that were panned by some critics.
O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.
O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boy for Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" and the video for Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in X2 (2003), the second installment of the X-Men film series, but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.
He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (2002; episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (1997; episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (2014; episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie (2014). He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2.
Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.
O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.
Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.
O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.
O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.
O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.
On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.
In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We're even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We're specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."
Advertising
O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; Buick commercials; The General insurance commercials; Papa John's pizza commercials; Hulu commercials; Epson printer commercials; and IcyHot commercials, among others.
Mixed martial arts
O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Choi replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010, in an interview at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for four different promotions. His favorite wrestlers are Tony Atlas, Junkyard Dog, André the Giant, and Brock Lesnar.
In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.
In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first-ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers. In July at the 2016 ESPY Awards on the red carpet, Big Show and O'Neal had another brief confrontation. A match was proposed for WrestleMania 33, which O'Neal accepted. In January 2017, the two began calling each other out on social media, posting workout videos of themselves preparing for the potential match. After weeks of discussion, the match was cancelled. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match was canceled due to monetary reasons, as both parties could not agree on a deal. Big Show later stated it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that caused the cancellation.
On the November 11, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill interrupted Cody Rhodes and teased the arrival of O'Neal in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He made a cameo appearance on Being The Elite and it was later confirmed that O'Neal had been appearing backstage at recent AEW tapings, including Full Gear. He appeared on the December 9 episode of AEW Dynamite and addressed AEW in a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone and Brandi Rhodes. At the end of the interview, O'Neal got water thrown on him by Brandi after telling her to get pointers from Cargill, who had broken Brandi's arm several weeks ago. On the March 3, 2021 episode of AEW Dynamite titled The Crossroads, O'Neal teamed with Jade Cargill to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. During the match, O'Neal paid tribute to Brodie Lee with his signature gesture and powerbomb and was driven through two tables by Cody, who hit O'Neal with a flying crossbody tackle as O'Neal was standing on the ring apron, knocking O'Neal through the tables that were set up at ringside.
Business ventures
O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.
In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.
O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.
In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings. In January 2022, O'Neal sold his stake in the Kings.
In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.
O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.
In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. O'Neal is also the global spokesperson for the company.
In 2018, O'Neal created his part music festival, circus and carnival, Shaq's Fun House, in partnership with Medium Rare, which is held annually. The event usually features celebrity DJ's and performers.
In early 2019 O'Neal joined the Papa John's board of directors and invested in nine stores in the Atlanta area. In addition, he became the spokesperson for the company as part of the three-year contract.
Personal life
O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
Marriage
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple has four children: Shareef (b. January 11, 2000), Amirah (b. November 13, 2001), Shaqir (b. April 19, 2003), and Me'arah (b. May 1, 2006). Nelson also has one son from a previous relationship, Myles. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. Shareef, later rated as a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, had committed to play college basketball at the University of Arizona, but rescinded the commitment in February 2018 after Arizona head coach Sean Miller was linked to potential major violations of NCAA recruiting rules.
Other relationships
O'Neal has a daughter named Taahirah O'Neal (b. July 19, 1996) from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts and later split in August 2012.
O'Neal began dating Laticia Rolle, a model, originally from Gardner, Massachusetts in early 2014. They later split in March 2018.
Outside of basketball
In June 2005 when Hall of Fame center George Mikan died, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.
O'Neal is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Prince Hall Freemason.
On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.
O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014, O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.
O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement. He participated in a virtual rally for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and voted for the first time during the 2020 presidential election.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 37.9 || .562 || .000 || .592 || 13.9 || 1.9 || .7 || 3.5 || 23.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 81 || 81 || 39.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .599* || .000 || .554 || 13.2 || 2.4 || .9 || 2.9 || 29.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 79 || 79 || 37.0 || .583 || .000 || .533 || 11.4 || 2.7 || .9 || 2.4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.3*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 54 || 52 || 36.0 || .573 || .500 || .487 || 11.0 || 2.9 || .6 || 2.1 || 26.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 51 || 51 || 38.1 || .557 || .000 || .484 || 12.5 || 3.1 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 60 || 57 || 36.3 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .527 || 11.4 || 2.4 || .7 || 2.4 || 28.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 49 || 49 || 34.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .576* || .000 || .540 || 10.7 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 26.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 79 || 79 || 40.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .574* || .000 || .524 || 13.6 || 3.8 || .5 || 3.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.7*
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 74 || 74 || 39.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .572* || .000 || .513 || 12.7 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 28.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 36.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .579* || .000 || .555 || 10.7 || 3.0 || .6 || 2.0 || 27.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 66 || 37.8 || .574 || .000 || .622 || 11.1 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 27.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 67 || 67 || 36.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .584* || .000 || .490 || 11.5 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.5 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 73 || 73 || 34.1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .601* || .000 || .461 || 10.4 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.3 || 22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 59 || 58 || 30.6 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .600* || .000 || .469 || 9.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.8 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 40 || 39 || 28.4 || .591 || .000 || .422 || 7.4 || 2.0 || .2 || 1.4 || 17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 33 || 33 || 28.6 || .581 || .000 || .494 || 7.8 || 1.4 || .6 || 1.6 || 14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 28 || 28 || 28.7 || .611 || .000 || .513 || 10.6 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.2 || 12.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 75 || 75 || 30.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .609* || .000 || .595 || 8.4 || 1.7 || .6 || 1.4 || 17.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 53 || 53 || 23.4 || .566 || .000 || .496 || 6.7 || 1.5 || .3 || 1.2 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 37 || 36 || 20.3 || .667 || .000 || .557 || 4.8 || .7 || .4 || 1.1 || 9.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,207 || 1,197 || 34.7 || .582 || .045 || .527 || 10.9 || 2.5 || .6 || 2.3 || 23.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 12 || 9 || 22.8 || .551 || .000 || .452 || 8.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 16.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .511 || .000 || .471 || 13.3 || 2.3 || .7 || 3.0 || 20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 21 || 21 || 38.3 || .577 || .000 || .571 || 11.9 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.9 || 25.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Orlando
| 12 || 12 || 38.3 || .606 || .000 || .393 || 10.0 || 4.6 || .8 || 1.3 || 25.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 9 || 9 || 36.2 || .514 || .000 || .610 || 10.6 || 3.2 || .6 || 1.9 || 26.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 13 || 13 || 38.5 || .612 || .000 || .503 || 10.2 || 2.9 || .5 || 2.6 || 30.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .510 || .000 || .466 || 11.6 || 2.3 || .9 || 2.9 || 26.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2000†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 23 || 23 || 43.5 || .566 || .000 || .456 || 15.4 || 3.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 30.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 16 || 16 || 42.3 || .555 || .000 || .525 || 15.4 || 3.2 || .4 || 2.4 || 30.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002†
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 19 || 19 || 40.8 || .529 || .000 || .649 || 12.6 || 2.8 || .5 || 2.5 || 28.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2003
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 12 || 12 || 40.1 || .535 || .000 || .621 || 14.8 || 3.7 || .6 || 2.8 || 27.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 22 || 22 || 41.7 || .593 || .000 || .429 || 13.2 || 2.5 || .3 || 2.8 || 21.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 13 || 13 || 33.2 || .558 || .000 || .472 || 7.8 || 1.9 || .4 || 1.5 || 19.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006†
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 23 || 23 || 33.0 || .612 || .000 || .374 || 9.8 || 1.7 || .5 || 1.5 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2007
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 4 || 4 || 30.3 || .559 || .000 || .333 || 8.5 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.5 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix
| 5 || 5 || 30.0 || .440 || .000 || .500 || 9.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.6 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 11 || 11 || 22.1 || .516 || .000 || .660 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 1.2 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Boston
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career
| 216 || 214 || 37.5 || .563 || .000 || .504 || 11.6 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 24.3
Discography
Studio albums
Shaq Diesel (1993)
Shaq Fu: Da Return (1994)
You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
Respect (1998)
Unreleased albums
Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001)
Filmography
Television credits
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Shaq Attaq! (1994)
A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
Shaq Talks Back (2002)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
See also
List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game
List of National Basketball Association single-game blocks leaders
List of National Basketball Association seasons played leaders
Highest-paid NBA players by season
Shaq–Kobe feud
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
List of NCAA Division I basketball players with 5 or more career triple-doubles
List of Freemasons
References
External links
Shaquille O'Neal at Louisiana State
1972 births
Living people
1994 FIBA World Championship players
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
A&M Records artists
African-American basketball players
African-American businesspeople
African-American investors
African-American male actors
African-American male professional wrestlers
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
African-American sports journalists
African-American television personalities
All-American college men's basketball players
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American Freemasons
American investors
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male rappers
American men podcasters
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
American podcasters
American Prince Hall Freemasons
American real estate businesspeople
American stock traders
Barry University alumni
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey
Basketball players from San Antonio
Boston Celtics players
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Texas
Businesspeople in technology
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
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Esports team owners
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Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
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LSU Tigers basketball players
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Male actors from San Antonio
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Miami Heat players
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
Musicians from San Antonio
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
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National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
New York Film Academy alumni
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Participants in American reality television series
Phoenix Suns players
Professional wrestlers from New Jersey
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Rappers from New Jersey
Rappers from Newark, New Jersey
Rappers from San Antonio
Sacramento Kings owners
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
United States men's national basketball team players
University of Phoenix alumni | true | [
"The 2020 Eurohockey Indoor Championship II was the 7th edition of the tournament. It took take place from 17 to 19 January 2020 in Lucerne, Switzerland.\n\nQualified Teams\n\nSweden finished 3rd in the previous tournament, but did not take part in 2020. Instead Turkey, which as 7th placed team in 2018 were originally relegated, took part.\n\nFormat\nThe eight teams are split into two groups of four teams. The bottom two teams from pool A and B, play in a new group, pool C, against the teams they did not play against in the group stage. The top two teams from pool A and B, will also play in a new group, pool D, where they play the teams they did not play against in the group stage to determine the winner. All points from pools A and B will be taken over in pools C and D. The top two teams will be promoted to the 2022 Men's EuroHockey Indoor Nations Championship. The last two teams will be relegated to the 2022 Eurohockey Indoor Championship III.\n\nResults\n''All times are local (UTC+1).\n\nPreliminary round\n\nPool A\n\nPool B\n\nFifth to eighth place classification\n\nPool C\nThe points obtained in the preliminary round against the other team are taken over.\n\nPool D\nThe points obtained in the preliminary round against the other team are taken over.\n\nFinal standings\n\nReferences\n\nMen's EuroHockey Indoor Championship II\nInternational indoor hockey competitions hosted by Switzerland\nEuroHockey Indoor Nations Championship Men\nIndoor Men\nEuroHockey Indoor Nations Championship Men\nEvents in Lucerne",
"The 2018–19 of the Finnish Basketball Cup is at its 33rd edition.\n\nThe competition was interrupted in 2013 and resumed for the season 2018–19. The Opening match was played on 30 October 2018.\n\nFormat \nEvery Finnish basketball team from any league could join voluntarily the Finnish Basketball Cup. The competition is structured in single game play-off series, with the exception that the teams that lose at the first and second round have a second chance to qualify by playing an additional play-out round.\n\nTeams\n\nFirst round \nIn the first round all the teams qualify to the second round, no matter what the result is. But the winners from the first round play against each other in a single game play-off format, while the losers go in a play-out round.\n\nSecond round \nThe second round play-offs are played amongst the teams that won in the first round. The winning teams go directly to the fourth round, while the losing teams play an extra third round with the chance to qualify to the fourth round.\n\nThe play-outs are played amongst the teams that lost the first play off round. The losing teams are out from the competition, while the winning teams play in the additional round against the losing team from the play-offs of the second round, with a chance to qualify to the fourth round.\n\nPlay off\n\nPlay out\n\nThird round \nIn the third round the teams who won the play-outs play against the teams that lost the second round of play-offs. The winners will qualify to the fourth round and will play against the teams that won the second round of play-offs\n\nBracket \nThe final stage is played in single match quarters, semifinals and final.\n\nFinal\n\nReferences\n\n2018–19 in European basketball leagues\n2018–19 in Finnish basketball"
]
|
[
"Mayday (Taiwanese band)",
"Early years (1997-1999)"
]
| C_65da1f857de74e11bbd84a750821aa35_1 | What happened at the early years of Mayday? | 1 | What happened during 1997-1999 of Mayday? | Mayday (Taiwanese band) | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM (Jiao Tou Yin Le ) which included their first studio recording Motor Rock<<Ya Che >> . In June 1998, they also released Embrace<<Yong Bao >> compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second one was Chen Yung-chang Chen Yong Chang ), the ex-member from a band called "whynot" (disbanded) - Guan You (Guan You ) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album Mayday's First Album<<Di Yi Zhang Chuang Zuo Zhuan Ji >> under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Band (Shi Yi Jie Jin Qu Jiang Zui Jia Yan Chang Tuan Ti Jiang ). The tracks Peter and Mary <<Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao >> and Embrace <<Yong Bao >> also caught on among the youth, and became the top songs on the KTV Chart. Peter and Mary was one of the top ten songs of the year according to the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan (Zhong Hua Yin Le Ren Jiao Liu Xie Hui ). In fact, Peter and Mary has been acknowledged by Ashin as the "song that brought them from the north of Taiwan to the south, allowing everyone to recognize Mayday." On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , cementing their position as one of the rising bands in Taiwan. CANNOTANSWER | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies | Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Members
Monster ()
Real name: Wen Shang Yi ()
Alias: Eugene Wen
Date of birth: 28 November 1976
Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
Position: Leader
Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ashin ()
Real name: ()
Date of birth: 6 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums
Stone ()
Real name: Shi Chin-hang ()
Date of birth: 11 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Masa ()
Real name: Tsai Shen-yen ()
Date of birth: 25 April 1977
Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals
Ming ()
Real name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]
Date of birth: 28 July 1973
Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals
Career
1995-1997: Formation
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.
1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().
1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild
The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.
In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.
On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.
2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.
2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.
2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round
From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.
Mayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.
2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium
Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.
From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.
On 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.
2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan
Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.
On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.
On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.
In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.
2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.
On 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.
On 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.
2016: History of Tomorrow
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.
On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.
On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.
2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
At the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).
On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.
Mayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.
On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.
The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.
The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.
The Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.
2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy
The 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.
Mayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour
On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.
On 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.
On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.
Mayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.
Musical style and influences
Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.
Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.
Collaborations
Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums and DVDs
Tours
168 Live (1999)
Stand Out Live (2000)
Where are you going Live Tour (2001)
Union Live (2003)
Final Home World Tour (2004–2006)
Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008)
D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)
Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)
Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014)
Life Tour (2017–2019)
Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)
Awards and nominations
Social Incidents
In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.
References
External links
Mayday's official facebook
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"
GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan
Encyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
Taiwanese rock music groups
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Taiwanese idols
Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands
Amuse Inc. talents | false | [
"Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).\n\nFormerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.\n\nMembers\n\nMonster ()\nReal name: Wen Shang Yi ()\nAlias: Eugene Wen\nDate of birth: 28 November 1976\nPlace of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan\nPosition: Leader \nInstruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals\n\nAshin ()\nReal name: ()\nDate of birth: 6 December 1975\nPlace of birth: Taipei, Taiwan\nInstruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums\n\nStone ()\nReal name: Shi Chin-hang ()\nDate of birth: 11 December 1975\nPlace of birth: Taipei, Taiwan\nInstruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals\n\nMasa ()\nReal name: Tsai Shen-yen ()\nDate of birth: 25 April 1977\nPlace of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan\nInstruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals\n\nMing ()\nReal name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]\nDate of birth: 28 July 1973\nPlace of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan\nInstruments: Drums, Backing vocals\n\nCareer\n\n1995-1997: Formation \nMayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.\n\n1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album \nShortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as \"the ones who would usher in the sound of the future\".\n\nAs a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.\n\nIn 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().\n\n1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild \nThe band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the \"Best Band\" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.\n\nIn 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.\n\n2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing\nDuring their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.\n\nOn 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.\n\nIn 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.\n\n2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour \nIn 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.\n\n2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour \nOn 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.\n\nOn 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.\n\n2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round \nFrom 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.\n\nOn 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.\n\nMayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.\n\n2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium \nMayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.\n\nFrom then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.\n\nOn 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.\n\n2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan \nMayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.\n\nAs part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.\n\nIn 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.\n\nOn 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.\n\nOn 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.\n\nIn the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.\n\n2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden \nAs part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.\n\nOn 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.\n\nOn 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.\n\n2016: History of Tomorrow \nFrom 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.\n\nOn 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.\n\nOn 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.\n\nFrom 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.\n\n2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation \nAt the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).\n\nOn 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called \"脱胎换骨\" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.\n\nMayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.\n\nOn 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.\n\nThe band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.\n\nMayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.\n\nThe band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.\n\nThe 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.\n\nThis was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.\n\nLeg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.\n\nOn 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.\n\nThe final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.\n\nThe Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.\n\n2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy \nThe 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.\n\nTo commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.\n\nMayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.\n\n2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour \nOn 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.\n\nOn 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.\n\nOn 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.\n\nOn 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.\n\nMayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.\n\nMusical style and influences\nMayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.\n\nMayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.\n\nEarlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including \"Viva Love\" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song \"Armor\" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.\n\nMayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the \"Beatles of the Chinese World\" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.\n\nCollaborations\nMayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n\nLive albums and DVDs\n\nTours\n168 Live (1999)\nStand Out Live (2000)\nWhere are you going Live Tour (2001)\nUnion Live (2003)\nFinal Home World Tour (2004–2006)\nJump! The World Tour (2007–2008)\nD.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)\nJust Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)\nNowhere World Tour (2011–2014)\nLife Tour (2017–2019)\nFly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)\n\nAwards and nominations\n\nSocial Incidents\nIn 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nMayday's official facebook\n\nTaipeiMetal \"News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene\"\nGigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan\nEncyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan\n\n \nTaiwanese rock music groups\nMandopop musical groups\nMusical groups established in 1997\nTaiwanese idols\nTaiwanese Hokkien-language bands\nAmuse Inc. talents",
"Members of Mayday was a German techno project by Klaus Jankuhn and WestBam. From 1991 until 2013 the Members of Mayday created the official hymn of the annual Mayday Rave, which at the time was Germany's largest indoor rave. In February 2014 WestBam left the group.\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n Members Only (1995)\n Anthems Of The Decade (2001)\n All In One (2009)\n\nSingles\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n of the Mayday party\n \n\nElectronic music duos\nGerman electronic music groups\nHardcore techno music groups"
]
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"Mayday (Taiwanese band)",
"Early years (1997-1999)",
"What happened at the early years of Mayday?",
"Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies"
]
| C_65da1f857de74e11bbd84a750821aa35_1 | Why were they sending out demos? | 2 | Why were Mayday sending out demos? | Mayday (Taiwanese band) | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM (Jiao Tou Yin Le ) which included their first studio recording Motor Rock<<Ya Che >> . In June 1998, they also released Embrace<<Yong Bao >> compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second one was Chen Yung-chang Chen Yong Chang ), the ex-member from a band called "whynot" (disbanded) - Guan You (Guan You ) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album Mayday's First Album<<Di Yi Zhang Chuang Zuo Zhuan Ji >> under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Band (Shi Yi Jie Jin Qu Jiang Zui Jia Yan Chang Tuan Ti Jiang ). The tracks Peter and Mary <<Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao >> and Embrace <<Yong Bao >> also caught on among the youth, and became the top songs on the KTV Chart. Peter and Mary was one of the top ten songs of the year according to the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan (Zhong Hua Yin Le Ren Jiao Liu Xie Hui ). In fact, Peter and Mary has been acknowledged by Ashin as the "song that brought them from the north of Taiwan to the south, allowing everyone to recognize Mayday." On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , cementing their position as one of the rising bands in Taiwan. CANNOTANSWER | Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future | Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Members
Monster ()
Real name: Wen Shang Yi ()
Alias: Eugene Wen
Date of birth: 28 November 1976
Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
Position: Leader
Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ashin ()
Real name: ()
Date of birth: 6 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums
Stone ()
Real name: Shi Chin-hang ()
Date of birth: 11 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Masa ()
Real name: Tsai Shen-yen ()
Date of birth: 25 April 1977
Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals
Ming ()
Real name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]
Date of birth: 28 July 1973
Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals
Career
1995-1997: Formation
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.
1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().
1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild
The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.
In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.
On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.
2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.
2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.
2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round
From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.
Mayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.
2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium
Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.
From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.
On 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.
2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan
Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.
On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.
On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.
In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.
2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.
On 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.
On 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.
2016: History of Tomorrow
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.
On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.
On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.
2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
At the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).
On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.
Mayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.
On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.
The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.
The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.
The Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.
2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy
The 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.
Mayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour
On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.
On 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.
On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.
Mayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.
Musical style and influences
Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.
Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.
Collaborations
Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums and DVDs
Tours
168 Live (1999)
Stand Out Live (2000)
Where are you going Live Tour (2001)
Union Live (2003)
Final Home World Tour (2004–2006)
Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008)
D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)
Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)
Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014)
Life Tour (2017–2019)
Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)
Awards and nominations
Social Incidents
In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.
References
External links
Mayday's official facebook
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"
GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan
Encyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
Taiwanese rock music groups
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Taiwanese idols
Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands
Amuse Inc. talents | false | [
"Yoni Wolf (formerly known by his stage name Why?) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock artist based in Berkeley, California. His discography consists of twelve studio albums, eight EPs, three compilations of demos, one compilation album, four live albums, numerous physical singles, and many production and remix credits and guest appearances on other artists' tracks.\n\nAlbums\n\nSolo \n Part Time People Cage... or Part Time Key? (1999) (as Why?)\n Oaklandazulasylum (2003) (as Why?)\n\nWhy? \nElephant Eyelash (2005)\nAlopecia (2008)\nEskimo Snow (2009)\nMumps, Etc. (2012)\nMoh Lhean (2017)\nAOKOHIO (2019)\n\nClouddead (Yoni Wolf with Doseone & Odd Nosdam) \n Clouddead (2001)\n Ten (2004)\n\nGreenthink (Yoni Wolf with Doseone) \n It's Not Easy Being... (1998)\n Blindfold (1999)\n\nOther collaborations \n Object Beings (2001) (with Doseone & Pedestrian, as Object Beings)\n In the Shadow of the Living Room (2002) (with Odd Nosdam, as Reaching Quiet)\n Hymie's Basement (2003) (with Andrew Broder, as Hymie's Basement)\n Divorcee (2014) (with Anna Stewart, as Divorcee)\n Testarossa (2016) (with Serengeti)\n\nEPs\n Crazy Hitman Science (1999) (with Doseone, Jel, et al., as Blud N Gutz)\n Split EP! (2001) (as Why?, with Odd Nosdam)\n Miss Ohio's Nameless (2001) (with Odd Nosdam, Doug McDiarmid, Chris Messick & John Meinkin, as Miss Ohio's Nameless)\n The Peel Session (2001) (Clouddead)\n Early Whitney (2003) (as Why?)\n Sanddollars (2005) (with Why?)\n Rubber Traits EP (2006) (with Why?)\n Sod in the Seed (2012) (with Why?)\n\nMixtapes\n Old Dope (Rap Tape) (2014)\n Snowjams (Covers Tape) (2014)\n\nDemo albums\n Alopecia: The Demos!! (2008) (with Why?)\n Eskimo Snow Demos (2009) (with Why?)\n Mumps, Etc. Etc.: The Demos 2007-2011 (2012) (with Why?)\n\nLive albums\n Apogee (1997) (with Doseone, Josiah & Mr. Dibbs, as Apogee)\n Almost Live from Anna’s Cabin (2003) (as Why?)\n Hymie's Basement Live (2004) (Hymie's Basement)\n Almost Live from Eli's Room (2008) (with Why?)\n Live At Third Man Records (2018)\n\nSingles\n \"Attack of the Postmodern Pat Boones / Cannibalism of the Object Beings\" (2000) (Object Beings)\n \"Apt. A\" (2000) (Clouddead)\n \"And All You Can Do Is Laugh\" (2000) (Clouddead)\n \"I Promise Never to Get Paint on My Glasses Again\" (2001) (Clouddead)\n \"Jimmy Breeze\" (2001) (Clouddead)\n \"Cloud Dead Number Five\" (2001) (Clouddead)\n \"Bike\" (2001) (Clouddead)\n \"So Long, Mike Pt. 1 / Black Light District\" (2001) (with Odd Nosdam, as MadToons Beat Orchestra)\n \"The Sound of a Handshake / This About the City\" (2002) (Clouddead)\n \"Dead Dogs Two\" (2004) (Clouddead)\n \"Dumb Hummer\" (2006) (with Why?)\n \"The Hollows\" (2007) (with Why?)\n\nGuest appearances\n Sole - \"Center City\" from Bottle of Humans (2000)\n Reaching Quiet - \"113th Clean\" on Ropeladder 12 (2000)\n Hood - \"They Removed All Trace That Anything Had Ever Happened Here\", \"Branches Bare\" & \"You're Worth The Whole World\" from Cold House (2001)\n DJ Krush - \"Song for John Walker\" from The Message at the Depth (2002)\n Pedestrian - \"O Hosanna\" \"Lifelong Liquidation Sale (1850-1950)\" \"The Dead Of A Day\" \"Anticon.\" \"Jane 2: Electric Boogaloo\" from Volume One: UnIndian Songs (2005)\n 13 & God - \"Soft Atlas\" from 13 & God (2005)\n Jel - \"All Day Breakfast\" from Soft Money (2006)\n Subtle - \"Falling\" from Yell & Ice (2007)\n Xiu Xiu - \"The Wig Master\" from Remixed & Covered (2007)\n SJ Esau - \"Note\" from Stop Touching My Cat (2007)\n Alias - \"Well Water Black\" from Resurgam (2008)\n Cryptacize - \"As I Went Out This Morning\" from Unusual Animals Vol. 4 (2008)\n Telephone Jim Jesus - \"Dice Raw\" from Anywhere Out of the Everything (2008)\n Themselves - \"Rapping 4 Money\" from The Free Houdini (2009)\n Serengeti - \"Geti Life\" from C.A.R. (2012)\n Ceschi - \"Yoni’s Electrocardiographs (feat. Yoni Wolf)\" from Sans Soleil (2019)\n Foxing - \"Speak With The Dead (feat. WHY?) (2021)\n\nRemix credits\n Fog - \"What a Day Day (Remix)\" from What a Day Day (2003)\n Themselves - \"Poison Pit (remix)\" from The No Music of AIFFs (2003)\n 13 & God - \"Into The Trees (Remix)\" from \"Men of Station\" (2005)\n Thee More Shallows - \"Freshman Remix\" from Monkey vs. Shark (2006)\n Bracken - \"Heathens (Redone by Alias And Why?)\" from \"Heathens\" (2006)\n\nDiscographies of American artists\nHip hop discographies\nMusic of the San Francisco Bay Area",
"Why? (styled as WHY?) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock band. The band was founded in 2004 by Cincinnati rapper and singer Yoni Wolf, who had been using Why? as his stage name since 1997. In addition to Wolf, who serves as lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, the band consists of multi-instrumentalists and backing vocalists Doug McDiarmid and Matt Meldon, and drummer and backing vocalist Josiah Wolf, who is Yoni Wolf's older brother.\n\nThe band has released six studio albums, along with several extended plays, demo albums, and live albums, since their inception. Their first album, 2005's Elephant Eyelash, came two years after Yoni Wolf's final solo release as Why?. They followed this album with Alopecia (2008), Eskimo Snow (2009), Mumps, Etc. (2012), Moh Lhean (2017), and AOKOHIO (2019).\n\nHistory\nIn 2004, Yoni Wolf enlisted his older brother Josiah, Doug McDiarmid, and Matt Meldon and formed Why?. At this time, he stopped using 'Why?' as his personal stage name.\n\nWhy? released their debut album Elephant Eyelash in 2005. The album deviated considerably from the sound of Yoni Wolf's final solo project under the Why? moniker, the 2003 album Oaklandazulasylum, expanding to the sound of a full indie rock band. The group toured much of 2005 in support of the album as a four-piece. By the time of their May 2006 tour with Islands, the group had become a three-piece because Matt Meldon moved to San Juan Island off the coast of Washington to live with his girlfriend. In 2008, the group added bassist Austin Brown to their lineup, making them a four-piece once again.\n\nFor their second album, Alopecia, Why? asked the fans to contribute photographs of their palms for the album's artwork. They released \"The Hollows\" as the first single with two different European and US versions, featuring remixes and covers by Boards of Canada, Xiu Xiu, Dntel, Half-handed Cloud, Dump and Islands. Alopecia was released in 2008 to very positive reviews.\n\nIn 2009, Why? released their third album Eskimo Snow. The ten songs on the album were recorded during the Alopecia sessions and are described by Yoni Wolf as \"the least hip-hop out of anything I've ever been involved with.\"\n\nOn June 27, 2012, the band announced via Stereogum that they would be releasing their new EP Sod in the Seed on August 13 on City Slang. In the same article, they premiered the title track. The song is more upbeat than any of the tracks on Eskimo Snow and contains rapping, which had been absent on the previous album.\n\nMumps, Etc., their fourth album, was released on October 9, 2012.\n\nIn 2013, the band released an EP entitled Golden Tickets on the Joyful Noise label. The Golden Tickets EP is \"a collection of personalized 'theme songs' for and about seven specific WHY? fans. Over the course of several months, Yoni and Josiah Wolf internet-stalked these fans for the purpose of crafting musical homages which would end up on this album.\" One track on the album focuses on an individual's Twitter feed, while Dropjaw lipreads the verbal meanderings of a fan who sent them a soundless video of himself talking into a camera.\n\nThe band's fifth album, Moh Lhean, was released on March 3, 2017.\n\nBand members\n\nYoni Wolf – lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, piano, samples, programming, bass guitar, percussion \nDoug McDiarmid – keyboards, synthesizers, piano, guitars, bass guitar, backing vocals \nMatt Meldon – guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals \nJosiah Wolf – drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, samples, backing vocals\n\nOther projects\nYoni Wolf has released many albums as a member of groups including Clouddead, Reaching Quiet, and Hymie's Basement. From 1997 to 2003, he released numerous solo projects and collaborated extensively with Doseone. Yoni Wolf has also produced tracks for other rappers. He produced several tracks for fellow Anticon co-founder Pedestrian's album Volume One: UnIndian Songs in 2005. He also produced several tracks for Serengeti's album Family and Friends, as well as providing backup vocals, in 2011.\n\nIn 2005, Doug McDiarmid released a solo EP under the name J.D. Wenceslas.\n\nIn 2003, Josiah Wolf released his debut solo EP entitled The Josiah EP. In 2010, he released his first solo album, Jet Lag on Anticon.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n Elephant Eyelash (2005)\n Alopecia (2008)\n Eskimo Snow (2009)\n Mumps, Etc. (2012)\n Moh Lhean (2017)\nAOKOHIO (2019)\n\nEPs\n Sanddollars (2005)\n Rubber Traits (2006)\n Sod in the Seed (2012)\n Golden Tickets (2013)\n\nDemo albums\n Alopecia: The Demos!! (2008)\n Eskimo Snow Demos (2009)\n Mumps, Etc. Etc.: The Demos 2007-2011 (2012)\n\nSingles\n \"Dumb Hummer\" (2006)\n \"The Hollows\" (2007)\n \"Waterlines\" (2013)\n \"This Ole King\" (2016)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official website\n Joyful Noise Recordings\n\nAnticon\nHip hop groups from California\nAlternative hip hop groups\nIndie rock musical groups from California\nMusical groups from Berkeley, California\nMusical groups established in 2004\nJoyful Noise Recordings artists\nCity Slang artists"
]
|
[
"Mayday (Taiwanese band)",
"Early years (1997-1999)",
"What happened at the early years of Mayday?",
"Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies",
"Why were they sending out demos?",
"Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as \"the ones who would usher in the sound of the future"
]
| C_65da1f857de74e11bbd84a750821aa35_1 | What happened after Jonathan was impressed? | 3 | What happened after Jonathan Lee was impressed with Mayday's demo? | Mayday (Taiwanese band) | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM (Jiao Tou Yin Le ) which included their first studio recording Motor Rock<<Ya Che >> . In June 1998, they also released Embrace<<Yong Bao >> compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second one was Chen Yung-chang Chen Yong Chang ), the ex-member from a band called "whynot" (disbanded) - Guan You (Guan You ) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album Mayday's First Album<<Di Yi Zhang Chuang Zuo Zhuan Ji >> under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Band (Shi Yi Jie Jin Qu Jiang Zui Jia Yan Chang Tuan Ti Jiang ). The tracks Peter and Mary <<Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao >> and Embrace <<Yong Bao >> also caught on among the youth, and became the top songs on the KTV Chart. Peter and Mary was one of the top ten songs of the year according to the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan (Zhong Hua Yin Le Ren Jiao Liu Xie Hui ). In fact, Peter and Mary has been acknowledged by Ashin as the "song that brought them from the north of Taiwan to the south, allowing everyone to recognize Mayday." On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , cementing their position as one of the rising bands in Taiwan. CANNOTANSWER | As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. | Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Members
Monster ()
Real name: Wen Shang Yi ()
Alias: Eugene Wen
Date of birth: 28 November 1976
Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
Position: Leader
Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ashin ()
Real name: ()
Date of birth: 6 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums
Stone ()
Real name: Shi Chin-hang ()
Date of birth: 11 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Masa ()
Real name: Tsai Shen-yen ()
Date of birth: 25 April 1977
Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals
Ming ()
Real name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]
Date of birth: 28 July 1973
Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals
Career
1995-1997: Formation
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.
1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().
1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild
The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.
In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.
On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.
2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.
2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.
2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round
From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.
Mayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.
2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium
Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.
From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.
On 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.
2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan
Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.
On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.
On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.
In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.
2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.
On 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.
On 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.
2016: History of Tomorrow
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.
On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.
On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.
2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
At the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).
On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.
Mayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.
On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.
The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.
The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.
The Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.
2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy
The 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.
Mayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour
On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.
On 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.
On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.
Mayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.
Musical style and influences
Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.
Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.
Collaborations
Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums and DVDs
Tours
168 Live (1999)
Stand Out Live (2000)
Where are you going Live Tour (2001)
Union Live (2003)
Final Home World Tour (2004–2006)
Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008)
D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)
Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)
Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014)
Life Tour (2017–2019)
Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)
Awards and nominations
Social Incidents
In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.
References
External links
Mayday's official facebook
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"
GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan
Encyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
Taiwanese rock music groups
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Taiwanese idols
Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands
Amuse Inc. talents | true | [
"Satellites & Sirens is a synth and guitar driven Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. Members include Geoff Hunker, lead singer and founder of the band, as well as Jonathan Dimmel (drums), David Troyer (guitar), and David Willey (bass/synth). The band formed in 2006 on Craigslist. While still in its infancy, it gained attention. MTV featured the band as its \"Needle in the Haystack\" spotlight artist for the week of Monday, June 21, 2010. Furthermore, the single Anchor climbed several charts including the Weekend 22, which airs on stations nationwide. Their self-titled album debuted March 2010 with Word Records.\n\nHistory and Formation\nIn 2006, after Hunker moved to Nashville and began working with producer Rusty Varenkamp on what would become Satellites & Sirens, Hunker decided it was time to assemble a band. \"I just put up an ad [on Craigslist] looking for guitar, bass, and drums to just see what happened,\" he says. \"Probably 80 percent of the stuff that came out of it was just absolutely horrible.\" However, from the ad Hunker managed to find drummer Jonathan Dimmel, who impressed Hunker both musically and personally. Shortly after, Dimmel introduced both Willey and Troyer to Hunker and into S&S. The band was then promoted through online advertising and social networks. Despite their origins, the band members also consider themselves close friends as opposed to just co-workers. Josue S. Lopez, Ex-Representative, and Co-manager of the band overheard Dimmel remark, \"A lot of bands don't have that. Especially when they don't go back further than, you know, two years off Craigslist.\"\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n\nEPs\n\nMusic videos\n\n \"Breaking the Noise\" from their 2010 self-titled album 'Satellites & Sirens' \n \"Take Me Back\" from their 2010 self-titled album 'Satellites & Sirens'\n \"Let It Go\" from their 2011 album 'Frequency'\n\nAwards\n\nGMA Dove Awards\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n Official YouTube Channel\n\nChristian rock groups from Tennessee\nElectronic music groups from Tennessee\nMusical groups from Nashville, Tennessee\nMusical groups established in 2006\nMusical quartets\n2006 establishments in Tennessee",
"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"
]
|
[
"Mayday (Taiwanese band)",
"Early years (1997-1999)",
"What happened at the early years of Mayday?",
"Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies",
"Why were they sending out demos?",
"Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as \"the ones who would usher in the sound of the future",
"What happened after Jonathan was impressed?",
"As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998."
]
| C_65da1f857de74e11bbd84a750821aa35_1 | What was their first album with the record label? | 4 | What was Mayday's first album with the Rock Records? | Mayday (Taiwanese band) | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM (Jiao Tou Yin Le ) which included their first studio recording Motor Rock<<Ya Che >> . In June 1998, they also released Embrace<<Yong Bao >> compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second one was Chen Yung-chang Chen Yong Chang ), the ex-member from a band called "whynot" (disbanded) - Guan You (Guan You ) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album Mayday's First Album<<Di Yi Zhang Chuang Zuo Zhuan Ji >> under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Band (Shi Yi Jie Jin Qu Jiang Zui Jia Yan Chang Tuan Ti Jiang ). The tracks Peter and Mary <<Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao >> and Embrace <<Yong Bao >> also caught on among the youth, and became the top songs on the KTV Chart. Peter and Mary was one of the top ten songs of the year according to the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan (Zhong Hua Yin Le Ren Jiao Liu Xie Hui ). In fact, Peter and Mary has been acknowledged by Ashin as the "song that brought them from the north of Taiwan to the south, allowing everyone to recognize Mayday." On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , cementing their position as one of the rising bands in Taiwan. CANNOTANSWER | In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM | Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Members
Monster ()
Real name: Wen Shang Yi ()
Alias: Eugene Wen
Date of birth: 28 November 1976
Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
Position: Leader
Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ashin ()
Real name: ()
Date of birth: 6 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums
Stone ()
Real name: Shi Chin-hang ()
Date of birth: 11 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Masa ()
Real name: Tsai Shen-yen ()
Date of birth: 25 April 1977
Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals
Ming ()
Real name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]
Date of birth: 28 July 1973
Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals
Career
1995-1997: Formation
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.
1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().
1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild
The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.
In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.
On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.
2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.
2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.
2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round
From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.
Mayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.
2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium
Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.
From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.
On 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.
2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan
Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.
On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.
On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.
In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.
2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.
On 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.
On 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.
2016: History of Tomorrow
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.
On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.
On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.
2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
At the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).
On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.
Mayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.
On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.
The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.
The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.
The Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.
2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy
The 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.
Mayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour
On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.
On 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.
On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.
Mayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.
Musical style and influences
Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.
Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.
Collaborations
Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums and DVDs
Tours
168 Live (1999)
Stand Out Live (2000)
Where are you going Live Tour (2001)
Union Live (2003)
Final Home World Tour (2004–2006)
Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008)
D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)
Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)
Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014)
Life Tour (2017–2019)
Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)
Awards and nominations
Social Incidents
In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.
References
External links
Mayday's official facebook
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"
GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan
Encyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
Taiwanese rock music groups
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Taiwanese idols
Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands
Amuse Inc. talents | false | [
"FatLip Recordings was an independent record label owned, operated and releasing music by the band Curve.\n\nHistory\nThe label was only active when Curve wished to release music independently. It was first used in 1996. Curve had recently reunited, having been split up for two years, and were without a record label, as their previous deal with Anxious Records had expired. They therefore self-released the 'Pink Girl With the Blues' single on their own FatLip Recordings label. The label became dormant when the band signed with Universal Records.\n\nCurve's relationship with Universal was strained, with the situation becoming untenable after Universal refused to release Curve's latest album, Gift, in 2000. Curve were completed their contract with Universal in early 2001 without Gift being released. Freed from record label control, Curve began putting MP3s of new and old material their site for fans to download. These, along with some new tracks, were collected together on CD in Open Day at the Hate Fest, which was released through the band's website later in 2001. The brisk sales of the CD made Universal realise that there was a market for Gift and the album was finally released, but only in the United States.\n\nThe FatLip brand was once again used for Curve's next album, The New Adventures of Curve, which was released through the band's website in 2002.\n\nA few weeks after The New Adventures of Curve was released, Gift was finally released in the United Kingdom. It was released by Artful Records (who had a distribution deal with Universal), though FatLip is also named on the packaging. A similar arrangement was used for the 'Perish' single.\n\nReleases\n 1996: Curve - 'Pink Girl With the Blues' (single - CD/7\")\n 2001: Curve - Open Day at the Hate Fest (compilation album - CD)\n 2002: Curve - The New Adventures of Curve (studio album - CD)\n 2002: Curve - Gift (studio album - CD (UK release only); with Artful Records)\n 2002: Curve - 'Perish' (single - CD; with Artful Records)\n\nReferences\n\nBritish record labels",
"What Are You Waiting For is the fourth album of Dutch band Krezip. It is the first album released with their new label Sony BMG. The album peaked at #1 in the Dutch Mega Album Top 100.\n\nAlbum information\nIn 2004 Krezip lost their record label. This was because Warner Music BeNeLux had to drop out all their national artist. Very soon after the drop out Krezip got another record deal with Sony BMG, where this was their first release.\n\nIn addition to make the album, Jacqueline Govaert (singer of the band) flew to the United States to write for the album with several writers. The album is also produced in the U.S. with the famous producer-couple Wizardz of Oz (Andrew Bojanic and Liz Hooper), who also worked with artist like Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears. All the songs are written by Jacqueline Govaert with co-writers.\n\nThe song \"Same Mistake\" was used in the Dutch movie Schnitzel Paradise (Het Schnitzelparadijs) which became a huge hit in the Netherlands.\n\nSingles\n Out Of My Bed\n Don't Crush Me\n I Apologize\n\nSingles charts\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nExternal links\n Official website\n\nReferences\n\n2005 albums\nKrezip albums"
]
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[
"Mayday (Taiwanese band)",
"Early years (1997-1999)",
"What happened at the early years of Mayday?",
"Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies",
"Why were they sending out demos?",
"Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as \"the ones who would usher in the sound of the future",
"What happened after Jonathan was impressed?",
"As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998.",
"What was their first album with the record label?",
"In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM"
]
| C_65da1f857de74e11bbd84a750821aa35_1 | Which of the singles in the album was mentioned? | 5 | Which of Mayday's singles was mentioned on the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album? | Mayday (Taiwanese band) | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM (Jiao Tou Yin Le ) which included their first studio recording Motor Rock<<Ya Che >> . In June 1998, they also released Embrace<<Yong Bao >> compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second one was Chen Yung-chang Chen Yong Chang ), the ex-member from a band called "whynot" (disbanded) - Guan You (Guan You ) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album Mayday's First Album<<Di Yi Zhang Chuang Zuo Zhuan Ji >> under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Band (Shi Yi Jie Jin Qu Jiang Zui Jia Yan Chang Tuan Ti Jiang ). The tracks Peter and Mary <<Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao >> and Embrace <<Yong Bao >> also caught on among the youth, and became the top songs on the KTV Chart. Peter and Mary was one of the top ten songs of the year according to the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan (Zhong Hua Yin Le Ren Jiao Liu Xie Hui ). In fact, Peter and Mary has been acknowledged by Ashin as the "song that brought them from the north of Taiwan to the south, allowing everyone to recognize Mayday." On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , cementing their position as one of the rising bands in Taiwan. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Members
Monster ()
Real name: Wen Shang Yi ()
Alias: Eugene Wen
Date of birth: 28 November 1976
Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
Position: Leader
Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ashin ()
Real name: ()
Date of birth: 6 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums
Stone ()
Real name: Shi Chin-hang ()
Date of birth: 11 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Masa ()
Real name: Tsai Shen-yen ()
Date of birth: 25 April 1977
Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals
Ming ()
Real name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]
Date of birth: 28 July 1973
Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals
Career
1995-1997: Formation
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.
1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().
1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild
The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.
In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.
On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.
2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.
2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.
2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round
From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.
Mayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.
2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium
Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.
From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.
On 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.
2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan
Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.
On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.
On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.
In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.
2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.
On 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.
On 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.
2016: History of Tomorrow
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.
On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.
On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.
2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
At the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).
On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.
Mayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.
On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.
The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.
The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.
The Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.
2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy
The 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.
Mayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour
On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.
On 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.
On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.
Mayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.
Musical style and influences
Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.
Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.
Collaborations
Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums and DVDs
Tours
168 Live (1999)
Stand Out Live (2000)
Where are you going Live Tour (2001)
Union Live (2003)
Final Home World Tour (2004–2006)
Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008)
D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)
Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)
Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014)
Life Tour (2017–2019)
Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)
Awards and nominations
Social Incidents
In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.
References
External links
Mayday's official facebook
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"
GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan
Encyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
Taiwanese rock music groups
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Taiwanese idols
Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands
Amuse Inc. talents | false | [
"The Singles: 1974–1978 is a compilation album by American pop duo the Carpenters containing some of their singles released in the years mentioned in the title. It was released internationally, reaching #2 on the UK Albums Chart, but the declining popularity of the Carpenters in the U.S. prevented a release in that country. Contrary to the album's title, two of the included tracks (\"Happy\" and \"Can't Smile Without You\") were not actually released as singles, while one commercial single (\"Goofus\") was omitted. One of the songs (\"I Won't Last a Day Without You\") was originally recorded in 1972 for inclusion on their album \"A Song for You\". It was eventually released as a single in 1974 and became a hit, so it was included here.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Sweet, Sweet Smile\" – 3:00\n\"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)\" – 3:41\n\"Can't Smile Without You\" – 3:23\n\"I Won't Last a Day Without You\" – 3:47\n\"All You Get from Love Is a Love Song\" – 3:45\n\"Only Yesterday\" – 4:10\n\"Solitaire\" – 4:39\n\"Please Mr. Postman\" – 2:50\n\"I Need to Be in Love\" – 3:31\n\"Happy\" – 3:49\n\"There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)\" – 2:57\n\"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft\" – 7:06\n\nReferences\n\nThe Carpenters compilation albums\n1978 compilation albums",
"\"The Fly\" is a song written by John Medora and David White and performed by Chubby Checker. \nThe song was produced by Kal Mann.\n\nBackground\nThis song featured an electric shaver, that made the sound effects of the buzzing fly.\n\nChart performance\n\"The Fly\" reached #7 on the U.S. pop chart, #11 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #35 in Australia in 1961. It was featured on his 1961 album For 'Teen Twisters Only.\nThe song ranked #70 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 singles of 1961.\n\nOther versions\nBrendan Bowyer with The Royal Showband Waterford released a version of the song as a single in 1966, but it did not chart.\n\nIn popular culture\nChecker's version was featured in the 1962 film Don't Knock the Twist and was included on the soundtrack.\nChecker's version was featured in the 1988 film Hairspray, however, due to licensing restrictions with Cameo-Parkway Records, was not included on the soundtrack.\nThe song was mentioned in the Ernie Mareska song \" Shout, Shout\"( Knock Yourself Out) (1962)\nThe song is mentioned in the Orlons song \"Wah Watusi\". (1962)\n\nReferences\n\n1961 songs\n1961 singles\n1966 singles\nSongs about dancing\nSongs written by John Medora\nSongs written by David White (musician)\nChubby Checker songs\nCameo-Parkway Records singles\nHis Master's Voice singles"
]
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[
"Mayday (Taiwanese band)",
"Early years (1997-1999)",
"What happened at the early years of Mayday?",
"Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies",
"Why were they sending out demos?",
"Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as \"the ones who would usher in the sound of the future",
"What happened after Jonathan was impressed?",
"As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998.",
"What was their first album with the record label?",
"In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM",
"Which of the singles in the album was mentioned?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_65da1f857de74e11bbd84a750821aa35_1 | Which of their personal album or single with the records? | 6 | Which of Mayday's personal album or single with the records? | Mayday (Taiwanese band) | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM (Jiao Tou Yin Le ) which included their first studio recording Motor Rock<<Ya Che >> . In June 1998, they also released Embrace<<Yong Bao >> compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second one was Chen Yung-chang Chen Yong Chang ), the ex-member from a band called "whynot" (disbanded) - Guan You (Guan You ) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album Mayday's First Album<<Di Yi Zhang Chuang Zuo Zhuan Ji >> under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Band (Shi Yi Jie Jin Qu Jiang Zui Jia Yan Chang Tuan Ti Jiang ). The tracks Peter and Mary <<Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao >> and Embrace <<Yong Bao >> also caught on among the youth, and became the top songs on the KTV Chart. Peter and Mary was one of the top ten songs of the year according to the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan (Zhong Hua Yin Le Ren Jiao Liu Xie Hui ). In fact, Peter and Mary has been acknowledged by Ashin as the "song that brought them from the north of Taiwan to the south, allowing everyone to recognize Mayday." On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , cementing their position as one of the rising bands in Taiwan. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Members
Monster ()
Real name: Wen Shang Yi ()
Alias: Eugene Wen
Date of birth: 28 November 1976
Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
Position: Leader
Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ashin ()
Real name: ()
Date of birth: 6 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums
Stone ()
Real name: Shi Chin-hang ()
Date of birth: 11 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Masa ()
Real name: Tsai Shen-yen ()
Date of birth: 25 April 1977
Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals
Ming ()
Real name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]
Date of birth: 28 July 1973
Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals
Career
1995-1997: Formation
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.
1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().
1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild
The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.
In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.
On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.
2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.
2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.
2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round
From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.
Mayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.
2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium
Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.
From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.
On 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.
2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan
Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.
On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.
On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.
In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.
2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.
On 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.
On 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.
2016: History of Tomorrow
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.
On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.
On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.
2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
At the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).
On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.
Mayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.
On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.
The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.
The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.
The Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.
2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy
The 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.
Mayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour
On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.
On 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.
On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.
Mayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.
Musical style and influences
Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.
Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.
Collaborations
Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums and DVDs
Tours
168 Live (1999)
Stand Out Live (2000)
Where are you going Live Tour (2001)
Union Live (2003)
Final Home World Tour (2004–2006)
Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008)
D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)
Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)
Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014)
Life Tour (2017–2019)
Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)
Awards and nominations
Social Incidents
In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.
References
External links
Mayday's official facebook
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"
GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan
Encyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
Taiwanese rock music groups
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Taiwanese idols
Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands
Amuse Inc. talents | false | [
"X-Perience is a eurodance band from Berlin, Germany. Their music style varies between synthpop, trance and ethnopop. The band members are Claudia Uhle (vocals, lyrics), Matthias Uhle (composition, keyboards) and Alexander Kaiser (lyrics, keyboards). Singer Claudia Uhle, Matthias' sister, left the band in 2007 and was replaced by Manja Kaletka, but returned in 2019.\n\nHistory\nX-Perience was founded in 1995. Their first single CD was called \"Circles of Love\", released on their own label. Axel Henninger, who had worked with Camouflage before, produced the track. \"Circles of Love\" became a regional hit in Berlin, mainly through the radio station Fritz. This caught the attention of the major record label WEA, who offered the band a contract. WEA re-released \"Circles of Love\" in 1996 on a larger scale, and this single managed to enter the German Top 100.\n\nThe group released a second single, \"A Neverending Dream\". Along with the song, a video was shot, which went into heavy rotation on MTV and VIVA. \"A Neverending Dream\" became a huge hit at the end of 1996, peaked at #4 in the German charts and reached gold status with over 250.000 copies sold. Since the song’s release, it has been covered several times most notably by the well-known dance act Cascada in 2006. Their debut album Magic Fields was released in 1997. It peaked at chart position #22 in Germany. In Finland, X-Perience became especially popular, with the album reaching platinum status.\n\nThe title track \"Magic Fields\" was released as a third single in 1997, along with a video that was shot in South Africa. Although the song did not reach the heights of \"A Neverending Dream\", it also was a hit on TV, radio, and in the charts. The second album, Take me Home, was released in the fall of 1997. Like the debut album, it reached #22 in the German charts. Its most successful single became the dance track \"I Don't Care\". In 1998, X-Perience won the radio award \"R.SH Gold\".\n\nAfter a break of three years, X-Perience came back in 2000. Journey of Life, released by Polydor/Universal, featured a song called \"The Meaning of Life\", a duet with Neue Deutsche Welle and Gothic icon Joachim Witt. The single \"Island of Dreams\" was used as a title track for the adventure show Expedition Robinson, a German version of Survivor.\n\nIn 2006, X-Perience got a new contract with Major Records in Hamburg. They released their single \"Return To Paradise\" and the fourth album Lost in Paradise, including new versions of the first three X-Perience hits, mixed by José Alvarez-Brill. The album also included a duet with Midge Ure (Ultravox, Visage) called Personal Heaven, which was released as another single.\n\nAfter the 2007 single release I Feel Like You, Claudia Uhle decided to leave the band.\n\nThe new voice of X-Perience was revealed on June 3, 2009 on their official website. Manja Wagner became the new singer and the band released a new song, Strong (Since You're Gone). This song plus four other new songs were published on the official X-Perience Facebook profile in the following months. A new album with Manja Kaletka on vocals was planned, but never released.\n\nOn December 22, 2019 the band announced the departure of Manja Kaletka and a comeback with Claudia Uhle in 2020 on their Facebook page. The teaser single \"Dream A Dream\" was released on April 10, 2020, \"I Feel Like You 555\" was the first radio single since 13 years and was released on May 15, 2020. The fifth album \"555\" is produced by Valicon and was released via Valicon Records on August 21, 2020.\nA new single called \"We Will Live Forever\" was announced for a release in April 2021 but was postponed to 2022. Meanwhile, Cruisin' Wild will be released as final single of the album on January 28, 2022. On Januar 16, 2022, singer Claudia Uhle revealed in a TikTok-livestream that the band began working on a sixth album.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n Magic Fields (WEA) – 1996\n Take Me Home (WEA) – 1997\n Journey of Life (Polydor) – 2000\n Lost in Paradise (Major Records) – 2006\n555 (Valicon Records) – 2020\n\nSingles\n\n \"Circles of Love\" (WEA) – 1996\n \"Circles of Love\" (Remixes) (WEA) – 1996\n \"A Neverending Dream\" (WEA) – 1996\n \"A Neverending Dream\" (Remixes) (WEA) – 1996\n \"Magic Fields\" (WEA) – 1997\n \"Mirror\" (WEA) – 1997\n \"I Don’t Care\" (WEA) – 1997\n \"I Don’t Care (Remixes)\" (WEA) – 1997\n \"Game of Love\" (WEA) – 1998\n \"Island of Dreams\" (Polydor) – 2000\n \"Am I Right\" (Polydor) – 2001\n \"Return to Paradise\" (Major Records) – 2006\n \"Personal Heaven\" feat. Midge Ure Basic + Premium Edition (Major Records) – 2006\n \"I Feel Like You\" (Major Records) – 2007\n \"I Feel Like You 555\" (Valicon Records) – 2020\n \"A Neverending Dream (555 Version)\" (Valicon Records) – 2020\n \"Don't You Forget\" (Valicon Records) – 2020\n \"Never Look Back (Never Give Up)\" (EP, Valicon Records) – 2021\n\nLimited/Promotional Releases\n \"Circles of Love\" (limited, own label World of Enigation) – 1995\n \"Limited Edition\" (X-Shaped Promo-CD) (WEA) – 1997\n \"Journey of Life\" Canceled/Promotional Single (Polydor) – 1999\n \"It’s a Sin\" Promotional Single (Polydor) – 2003\n \"Dream A Dream\" Teaser Single (Valicon Records) – 2020\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial homepage\nDiscogs Profile\n\nGerman musical groups\nMusical groups from Berlin",
"Remixes 2: 81–11 is a remix compilation album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 6 June 2011 by Mute Records. The album is the band's second remix collection, following Remixes 81–04 (2004). It spans the band's entire career up that point and includes new arrangements by former Depeche Mode members Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder. The compilation concludes the band's recording contract with EMI.\n\nThe album is available in two different CD formats, single or triple-disc, as well as digital downloads and a six-LP box set. The album was preceded by the single \"Personal Jesus 2011\", with the leading remix of \"Personal Jesus\" by the Norwegian production team Stargate. Clarke's remix of \"Behind the Wheel\", titled \"Behind the Wheel 2011\", was released as a promotional single in the United States on 6 June 2011.\n\nThe version of the album available through Beatport replaces 10 of the tracks on the album with either instrumental or dub versions and features a different cover art.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written and composed by Martin L. Gore, except where noted.\n\nOne-disc version\n\nThree-disc version\n\nPersonnel\nCredits adapted from the liner notes of Remixes 2: 81–11.\n\n Depeche Mode – compilers\n Roland Brown – compiler\n Mike Marsh – mastering\n Mat Cook – design\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Album information from the official Depeche Mode web site\n \n\n2011 compilation albums\n2011 remix albums\nDepeche Mode compilation albums\nDepeche Mode remix albums\nMute Records compilation albums\nMute Records remix albums\nReprise Records compilation albums\nReprise Records remix albums"
]
|
[
"Mayday (Taiwanese band)",
"Early years (1997-1999)",
"What happened at the early years of Mayday?",
"Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies",
"Why were they sending out demos?",
"Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as \"the ones who would usher in the sound of the future",
"What happened after Jonathan was impressed?",
"As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998.",
"What was their first album with the record label?",
"In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM",
"Which of the singles in the album was mentioned?",
"I don't know.",
"Which of their personal album or single with the records?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_65da1f857de74e11bbd84a750821aa35_1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 7 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article besides Mayday being a part of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album? | Mayday (Taiwanese band) | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM (Jiao Tou Yin Le ) which included their first studio recording Motor Rock<<Ya Che >> . In June 1998, they also released Embrace<<Yong Bao >> compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second one was Chen Yung-chang Chen Yong Chang ), the ex-member from a band called "whynot" (disbanded) - Guan You (Guan You ) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album Mayday's First Album<<Di Yi Zhang Chuang Zuo Zhuan Ji >> under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Band (Shi Yi Jie Jin Qu Jiang Zui Jia Yan Chang Tuan Ti Jiang ). The tracks Peter and Mary <<Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao >> and Embrace <<Yong Bao >> also caught on among the youth, and became the top songs on the KTV Chart. Peter and Mary was one of the top ten songs of the year according to the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan (Zhong Hua Yin Le Ren Jiao Liu Xie Hui ). In fact, Peter and Mary has been acknowledged by Ashin as the "song that brought them from the north of Taiwan to the south, allowing everyone to recognize Mayday." On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , cementing their position as one of the rising bands in Taiwan. CANNOTANSWER | On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , | Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Members
Monster ()
Real name: Wen Shang Yi ()
Alias: Eugene Wen
Date of birth: 28 November 1976
Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
Position: Leader
Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ashin ()
Real name: ()
Date of birth: 6 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums
Stone ()
Real name: Shi Chin-hang ()
Date of birth: 11 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Masa ()
Real name: Tsai Shen-yen ()
Date of birth: 25 April 1977
Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals
Ming ()
Real name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]
Date of birth: 28 July 1973
Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals
Career
1995-1997: Formation
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.
1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().
1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild
The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.
In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.
On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.
2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.
2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.
2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round
From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.
Mayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.
2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium
Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.
From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.
On 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.
2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan
Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.
On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.
On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.
In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.
2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.
On 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.
On 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.
2016: History of Tomorrow
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.
On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.
On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.
2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
At the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).
On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.
Mayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.
On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.
The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.
The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.
The Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.
2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy
The 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.
Mayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour
On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.
On 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.
On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.
Mayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.
Musical style and influences
Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.
Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.
Collaborations
Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums and DVDs
Tours
168 Live (1999)
Stand Out Live (2000)
Where are you going Live Tour (2001)
Union Live (2003)
Final Home World Tour (2004–2006)
Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008)
D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)
Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)
Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014)
Life Tour (2017–2019)
Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)
Awards and nominations
Social Incidents
In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.
References
External links
Mayday's official facebook
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"
GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan
Encyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
Taiwanese rock music groups
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Taiwanese idols
Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands
Amuse Inc. talents | 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"
]
|
[
"Mayday (Taiwanese band)",
"Early years (1997-1999)",
"What happened at the early years of Mayday?",
"Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies",
"Why were they sending out demos?",
"Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as \"the ones who would usher in the sound of the future",
"What happened after Jonathan was impressed?",
"As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998.",
"What was their first album with the record label?",
"In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM",
"Which of the singles in the album was mentioned?",
"I don't know.",
"Which of their personal album or single with the records?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] ,"
]
| C_65da1f857de74e11bbd84a750821aa35_1 | What was the outcome of the performance? | 8 | What was the outcome of Mayday's performance on 28 August? | Mayday (Taiwanese band) | Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (Ye Tai Kai Chang ), the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee (Li Zong Sheng ) who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album <<AIGuo Ge Qu >> by indie music label TCM (Jiao Tou Yin Le ) which included their first studio recording Motor Rock<<Ya Che >> . In June 1998, they also released Embrace<<Yong Bao >> compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second one was Chen Yung-chang Chen Yong Chang ), the ex-member from a band called "whynot" (disbanded) - Guan You (Guan You ) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album Mayday's First Album<<Di Yi Zhang Chuang Zuo Zhuan Ji >> under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Band (Shi Yi Jie Jin Qu Jiang Zui Jia Yan Chang Tuan Ti Jiang ). The tracks Peter and Mary <<Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao >> and Embrace <<Yong Bao >> also caught on among the youth, and became the top songs on the KTV Chart. Peter and Mary was one of the top ten songs of the year according to the Association of Music Workers in Taiwan (Zhong Hua Yin Le Ren Jiao Liu Xie Hui ). In fact, Peter and Mary has been acknowledged by Ashin as the "song that brought them from the north of Taiwan to the south, allowing everyone to recognize Mayday." On 28 August, they held their first large-scale performance called The 168th Performance [Di 168Chang Yan Chang Hui ] , cementing their position as one of the rising bands in Taiwan. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums).
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as the “Beatles of the Chinese-speaking World”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Members
Monster ()
Real name: Wen Shang Yi ()
Alias: Eugene Wen
Date of birth: 28 November 1976
Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
Position: Leader
Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Ashin ()
Real name: ()
Date of birth: 6 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums
Stone ()
Real name: Shi Chin-hang ()
Date of birth: 11 December 1975
Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Masa ()
Real name: Tsai Shen-yen ()
Date of birth: 25 April 1977
Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals
Ming ()
Real name: Liu Guan-you () [Old Name: Liu Yen-ming ()]
Date of birth: 28 July 1973
Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan
Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals
Career
1995-1997: Formation
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by The Beatles, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.
1997-1999: Mayday’s First Album
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs Peter and Mary as well as Embrace became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().
1999-2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild
The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their Stand Out tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan.
In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month. From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour Where are you going （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.
2003-2005: Return to the music scene, Time Machine and God’s Children are all Dancing
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their Castle in the Sky concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene.
On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album Time Machine (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album God’s Children are all Dancing （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour Final Home from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.
2006-2008: Jump! The World world tour
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album Born to Love（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour Jump! The World （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.
2008-2010: Poetry of the Day After and DNA world tour
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band.
On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the National Stadium (Kaohsiung) with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.
2011: Release of 3D film 3DNA and Second Round
From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT.
Mayday embarked on their Nowhere World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.
2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium
Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year.
From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their NOW-HERE world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the Beijing National Stadium.
On 3 March 2012, they held their Just Love It! I won’t let you be alone charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.
2013: Release of 3D film Noah’s Ark and debut in Japan
Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song Cheers（乾杯）in their 8th album Second Round (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity.
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label Amuse. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014.
On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, Mayday Nowhere（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the Olympics opening ceremony and FIFA World Cup to film with high-quality equipment such as the Spidercam. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team.
On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Japan.
In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999-2013.
2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden
As part of their NOW-HERE world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the Wembley Arena in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in Paris at the Zénith Paris on 23 February and in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the NOW-HERE world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March.
On 27 July, Mayday started another series of Just Love It! charity concerts, with the first Just Love It! Embrace charity concert held at the Kaohsiung Arena, followed by 3 August in Beijing, 5 August in Shenzhen, and 8 August in Yilan. All proceeds were donated to charity.
On 31 December, Mayday held their Campfire concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.
2016: History of Tomorrow
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer.
On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert.
On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their Just Rock It!!! World Tour.
2017-2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
At the 28th Golden Melody Awards, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin).
On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with Alan Tam presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his seventeenth Mandarin studio album Appreciation.
Mayday’s Life world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The Life tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more.
On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert.
The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at Anaheim’s Honda Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the Singapore National Stadium. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to Oceania, where they performed three shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland from 18 to 23 September 2018.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time.
The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan to round up the tour.
The Life world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.
2019: Release of 3D film Life and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy
The 3D concert film Mayday LiFE was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the Blue Trilogy, Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the Blue Trilogy, namely Innocence (純真), World Crazy (瘋狂世界) and Tenderness (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on Tenderness.
Mayday also kicked off their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the Hong Kong Disneyland to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan, Taiwan, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020-2021: Online concert and Fly to 2021 Taiwan tour
On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their Just Rock It!!! Blue tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore, to be held on 3 December 2022.
On 28 January 2020, the music video for I won’t let you be lonely passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the Mayday live in the sky online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for Here, After Us passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube.
On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their Fly to 2021 concert tour, with 5 concerts at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. Besides, as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline workers during the pandemic, the band and company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan.
On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, Because of You, composed and written by Ashin.
Mayday also held a second online concert, Mayday Fly to 2021, to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time.
Musical style and influences
Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some Taiwanese Hokkien tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s.
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien garage rock tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, Vive L'Amour and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.
Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band Oasis, and the Japanese pop music artists Mr. Children.
Collaborations
Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Jam Hsiao, S.H.E, Alan Tam, Wang Leehom, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums and DVDs
Tours
168 Live (1999)
Stand Out Live (2000)
Where are you going Live Tour (2001)
Union Live (2003)
Final Home World Tour (2004–2006)
Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008)
D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010)
Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020)
Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014)
Life Tour (2017–2019)
Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)
Awards and nominations
Social Incidents
In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.
References
External links
Mayday's official facebook
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"
GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in Taiwan
Encyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
Taiwanese rock music groups
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Taiwanese idols
Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands
Amuse Inc. talents | false | [
"The outcome bias is an error made in evaluating the quality of a decision when the outcome of that decision is already known. Specifically, the outcome effect occurs when the same \"behavior produce[s] more ethical condemnation when it happen[s] to produce bad rather than good outcome, even if the outcome is determined by chance.\"\n\nWhile similar to the hindsight bias, the two phenomena are markedly different. Hindsight bias focuses on memory distortion to favor the actor, while the outcome bias focuses exclusively on weighting the past outcome heavier than other pieces of information in deciding if a past decision was correct.\n\nOverview\nOne will often judge a past decision by its ultimate outcome instead of based on the quality of the decision at the time it was made, given what was known at that time. This is an error because no decision-maker ever knows whether or not a calculated risk will turn out for the best. The actual outcome of the decision will often be determined by chance, with some risks working out and others not. Individuals whose judgments are influenced by outcome bias are seemingly holding decision-makers responsible for events beyond their control.\n\nBaron and Hershey (1988) presented subjects with hypothetical situations in order to test this.\nOne such example involved a surgeon deciding whether or not to do a risky surgery on a patient. The surgery had a known probability of success. Subjects were presented with either a good or bad outcome (in this case living or dying), and asked to rate the quality of the surgeon's pre-operation decision. Those presented with bad outcomes rated the decision worse than those who had good outcomes. \"The ends justify the means\" is an often used aphorism to express the Outcome effect when the outcome is desirable.\n\nThe reason why an individual makes this mistake is that he or she will incorporate currently available information when evaluating a past decision. To avoid the influence of outcome bias, one should evaluate a decision by ignoring information collected after the fact and focusing on what the right answer is, or was at the time the decision was made.\n\nOutside of psychological experiments, the outcome bias has been found to be substantially present in real world situations. A study looking at the evaluation of football players' performance by coaches and journalists found that players' performance is judged to be substantially better—over a whole match—if the player had a lucky goal rather than an unlucky miss (after a player's shot hit one of the goal posts).\n\nSee also\n Deontology vs. teleology and consequentialism (ethical theories)\n Group attribution error\n Historian's fallacy\n List of cognitive biases\n\nReferences\n\nCognitive biases",
"The National Video Archive of Performance is a film and video archive in London, England which holds recordings of stage performances.\n\nIn 1992 the Theatre Museum, a branch museum of the Victoria & Albert Museum, began recording stage performance in the United Kingdom. The project was named the National Video Archive of Stage Performance and later renamed the National Video Archive of Performance. The model for the project was the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library at the Lincoln Center. The first production recorded was the Royal National Theatre production of Richard III starring Ian McKellen and directed by Richard Eyre.\n\nThe National Video Archive of Performance (NVAP) was the outcome of an agreement between the Federation of Entertainment Unions and the V&A Theatre Collections enabling the museum to make high quality archival recordings of live performance without payment of artists' fees.\n\nReferences\n\nTheatre in the United Kingdom\nFilm archives"
]
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[
"Sepultura",
"Against, Nation and Roorback (1998-2005)"
]
| C_e38bef0651564b979590115c22c6acb1_1 | What was Against? | 1 | What was Against? | Sepultura | Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come". The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album -- he has no problem going that extra mile -- and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in Sao Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band. CANNOTANSWER | Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. | Sepultura (, "grave") is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
The band has had several lineup changes throughout its existence, with Max and Igor Cavalera departing in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Sepultura's current lineup consists of vocalist Derrick Green (who replaced Max in 1998), guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande (who replaced Igor's successor Jean Dolabella in 2011). Since Igor Cavalera's departure in 2006, there have been no original members left in the band. Although Paulo Jr. joined Sepultura shortly after its formation in late 1984 and is the longest serving member, he did not play on any of the band's studio albums until Chaos A.D. (1993). Kisser, who replaced onetime guitarist Jairo Guedz, has appeared on all of Sepultura's records since their second full-length Schizophrenia (1987); he also recorded bass guitar until Chaos A.D..
Sepultura has released fifteen studio albums to date, the latest being Quadra (2020). Their most successful records are Beneath the Remains (1989), Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over three million units in the United States and almost 20 million worldwide, gaining multiple gold and platinum records around the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus, and their native Brazil.
History
Formation, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions (1984–1986)
Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The band was founded by teen brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the impoverished sons of Vânia, a model, and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial ruin. Graciliano's death deeply affected his sons, inspiring them to form a band after Max heard the album Black Sabbath Vol. 4 the very same day. They chose the band name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for "grave", when Max translated the lyrics of the Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave".
The brothers' early influences included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, and metal and hard rock artists of the early 1980s, such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and V8. They would travel to a record shop in São Paulo that mixed tapes of the latest records by American bands. Their listening habits changed dramatically after being introduced to Venom. As Igor Cavalera put it:
The Cavalera brothers started listening to bands such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, and Exciter. They also had influences on Brazilian metal from bands like Stress, Sagrado Inferno, and Dorsal Atlântica. By 1984, they had dropped out of school. After several early membership changes, Sepultura established a stable lineup of Max on guitar, Igor on drums, vocalist Wagner Lamounier, and bassist Paulo Jr. Lamounier departed in March 1985 after disagreements with the band, and moved on to become the leader of the pioneering Brazilian black metal band Sarcófago. After his departure, Max took over the vocal duties. Jairo Guedes was invited to join the band as lead guitarist.
After about a year of performing, Sepultura signed to Cogumelo Records in 1985. Later that year, they released Bestial Devastation, a shared EP with fellow Brazilian band Overdose. It was recorded and self-produced in just two days. The band recorded their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, in August 1986. It contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom", which gained some media attention. The band then decided to relocate to the larger city of São Paulo.
Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains, and Arise (1987–1992)
In early 1987, Jairo Guedz quit the band. Guedz was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser, and they released their second studio album, Schizophrenia, later that year. The album reflected a stylistic change towards a more thrash metal-oriented sound, while still keeping the death metal elements of Morbid Visions. Schizophrenia was an improvement in production and performance, and became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America as a much sought-after import. The band sent tapes to the United States that made radio playlists at a time when they were struggling to book gigs, because club owners were afraid to book them due to their style. The band gained attention from Roadrunner Records who signed them and released Schizophrenia internationally before seeing the band perform in person.
During a May 2018 interview with teenyrockers.com, Kisser noted that Sepultura would not have been possible without family support, not only from his own family, but also from the families of Max and Igor, and Paulo Jr.
The band's third studio album, Beneath the Remains, was released in 1989. The album was recorded in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro while the band communicated through translators with the American producer Scott Burns. It was an immediate success and became known in thrash metal circles as a classic on the order of Slayer's Reign in Blood. It was hailed by Terrorizer magazine as one of the all-time top 20 thrash metal albums, as well as gaining a place in their all-time top 40 death metal records. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "The complete absence of filler here makes this one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time." A long European and American tour furthered the band's reputation, despite the fact that they were still very limited English speakers. Sepultura's first live dates outside of Brazil were opening for Sodom on their Agent Orange tour in Europe; following this was Sepultura's first US show, which was held on October 31, 1989 at the Ritz in New York City, opening for Danish heavy metal band King Diamond. The band filmed its first video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America. Touring in support of Beneath the Remains continued throughout much of 1990, including three shows in Brazil with Napalm Death, European dates with Mordred and a US tour with Obituary and Sadus.
In January 1991, Sepultura played for more than 100,000 people at the Rock in Rio II festival. The band relocated from their native Brazil to Phoenix, Arizona in 1990, obtained new management, and recorded the album Arise at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. By the time the album was released in March 1991, the band had become one of the most critically praised thrash/death metal bands of the time. The first single "Dead Embryonic Cells" was a success, and the title track gained additional attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery; it did, however, get some airplay on Headbangers Ball as did the music videos for "Dead Embryonic Cells" and "Desperate Cry". Arise was critically acclaimed and their first to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 119.
Sepultura toured relentlessly throughout 1991 and 1992 in support of Arise; its touring cycle began in May 1991 with a European trek with Sacred Reich and Heathen, followed by the New Titans on the Block tour in the US that included support from Sacred Reich, Napalm Death and Sick of It All. They also played with several other bands, including Slayer, Testament, Motörhead, Kreator, White Zombie, Type O Negative and Fudge Tunnel, and along with Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tears tour. Max Cavalera married the band's manager Gloria Bujnowski during this period. The Arise tour concluded in December 1992 with a US tour, where the band (along with Helmet) supported Ministry's Psalm 69 tour.
Chaos A.D., Nailbomb and Roots (1993–1996)
Sepultura's fifth album, Chaos A.D., was released in 1993. Supported by the singles "Refuse/Resist", "Territory" and "Slave New World", this was their only album to be released in North America by Epic Records, and the first of two albums by Sepultura to be certified gold there. It saw a departure from their death metal style, adding influences of groove metal, industrial and hardcore punk. While Chaos A.D. is not a death metal album, the album does include elements of thrash metal music. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that, "Chaos A.D. ranks as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time." The band did a year-long tour in support of Chaos A.D., starting with a headlining European run with Paradise Lost, followed by a US tour with Fudge Tunnel, Fear Factory and Clutch. They were also one of the support acts (along with Biohazard and Prong) for Pantera's Far Beyond Driven tour in North America, and then opened for the Ramones in South America and toured Australia and New Zealand with Sacred Reich. By the time the Chaos A.D. tour ended in November 1994, Sepultura was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the day.
Also in 1994, Max and Igor collaborated with Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel to form Nailbomb. They released an even more industrial-oriented album, Point Blank the same year. The group performed only one full live gig at Dynamo Open Air in 1995, and the performance was released as Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb was disbanded shortly afterwards.
Sepultura's sound change continued with their sixth album, Roots, which was released in 1996. On this album the band experimented with elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples, and adopted a slower, down-tuned sound. The album was hailed as a modern-day heavy metal classic and a major influence on the then-nascent nu metal scene. AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s." In 1996, Sepultura performed "War (Guerra)" for the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Departure of Max Cavalera, Derrick Green joins and Against (1996–2000)
In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock main stage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Fear Factory. The band was suddenly a three-piece with Andreas Kisser taking over on lead vocals, after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of the death of his stepson Dana Wells in a car accident. After Dana Wells' funeral was finished, Max returned and continued to tour with Sepultura. A few months after Wells' death, the band had a meeting with Max and said that they wanted to fire their manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was Max's wife and Dana's mother, and find new management. Their reasoning was that Bujnowski was giving preferential treatment to Max while neglecting the rest of the band. Max, who was still coming to terms with the death of Wells, felt betrayed by his bandmates for wanting to get rid of Bujnowski and abruptly quit the band. Max Cavalera's final performance with Sepultura was at Brixton Academy in England on December 16, 1996.
Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. In a retrospective review AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come".
Nation and Roorback (2001–2005)
The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gives the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records.
After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album — he has no problem going that extra mile — and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in São Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band.
Dante XXI, A-Lex, and departure of Igor Cavalera (2006–2010)
Sepultura's tenth album, Dante XXI, was released on March 14, 2006. It is a concept album based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Music videos were recorded for the songs "Convicted in Life" and "Ostia". AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Overall, Dante XXI is easily one of Sepultura's strongest releases to feature Green on vocals."
In a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom having recently reconciled after a decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup. There were also rumors that the reunited line up would play on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007. However, this was denied by Kisser and the reunion did not occur. Instead, Igor Cavalera left the band after the release of Dante XXI and was replaced by Brazilian drummer Jean Dolabella, leaving the band without any of its original members. After leaving Sepultura, Igor and Max formed Cavalera Conspiracy.
The band was one of the featured musical guests at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13. They performed a cover of "The Girl from Ipanema", and "We've Lost You" from the album A-Lex. The 9th annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and aired on Univision. Sepultura also appeared in a successful ad campaign for Volkswagen motors commercial that aired nationally throughout Brazil in 2008. The spot said that "it's the first time you've seen Sepultura like this. And a Sedan like this one too". The Volkswagen TV spot shows Sepultura playing bossa nova, the opposite of its heavy metal style, to say that "you never saw something like this, as you never saw a car like the new Voyage."
Sepultura released the album A-Lex on January 26, 2009. This was the first Sepultura album to include neither of the Cavalera brothers, with bassist Paulo Jr. as the sole remaining member from the band's debut album. A-Lex is a concept album based on the book A Clockwork Orange. The album was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, with producer Stanley Soares. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Personnel changes can have a very negative effect on a band, but Sepultura have maintained their vitality all these years – and that vitality is alive and well on the superb A-Lex." In the same year Andreas Kisser contributed his recipe for "Churrasco in Soy Sauce" to Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook, stating in the recipe that he prefers his meat "medium-rare". Sepultura supported Metallica on January 30 and 31, 2010, at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. The two concerts were attended by 100,000 people. The band filmed a concert DVD in 2010. Sepultura played at Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, on April 27, 2010. On August 8, 2010 visited the UK to play at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone.
Kairos and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2010–2015)
On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura were signed with Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. The band confirmed that there would be no reunion of the classic lineup. By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their 12th album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Andre Matos). On March 1, 2011, Sepultura had completed recording their new album, entitled Kairos, which was released in June 2011.
The album includes cover versions of Ministry's "Just One Fix" and The Prodigy's "Firestarter", both of which are available as bonus tracks on various special-edition releases. Sepultura played on the Kairos World Tour and at Wacken Open Air 2011. Drummer Jean Dolabella left the band and was replaced by 20-year-old Eloy Casagrande in November 2011, who had already played in Brazilian heavy metal singer Andre Matos' solo band and in the Brazilian post-hardcore band Gloria. In November and December 2011 Sepultura participated the Thrashfest Classics 2011 tour alongside thrash metal bands like Exodus, Destruction, Heathen, and Mortal Sin.
In May 2012, guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year". In an interview at England's Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group Les Tambours du Bronx. He also revealed that the band was "already thinking about new ideas" for their next album and would "have something new going on" in 2013.
On December 10, 2012, producer Ross Robinson, who produced Sepultura's Roots album, tweeted: "Oh, didn't mention.. Spoke to Andreas, it's on. My vision, smoke Roots" suggesting he would be producing the band's next album. This was later confirmed, as well as an announcement that the album would be co-produced by Steve Evetts. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo made a guest appearance on the album.
On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career." Relentless was published on October 8, 2014 in Poland under the title Brazylijska Furia, and the English language edition was published via Rocket 88 on December 4, 2014. The Brazilian edition, titled Relentless – 30 Anos de Sepultura, is scheduled for publication via Benvira in early 2015. The French language edition of "Relentless" was published in France on October 19, 2015.
On July 19, 2013, it was revealed that the title of the band's thirteenth album was The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. In September 2013, they performed at Rock in Rio with Brazilian rock/MPB artist Zé Ramalho – this line-up was named "Zépultura", a portmanteau of both artists' names.
Machine Messiah and Quadra (2016–present)
After spending more than two years of touring in support of The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, Sepultura entered the studio in mid-2016 to begin recording their fourteenth studio album, with Jens Bogren as the producer. The resulting album, Machine Messiah, was released on January 13, 2017. Sepultura promoted the album with a series of world tours, including supporting Kreator on their Gods of Violence tour in Europe in February–March 2017, and along with Prong, they supported Testament on the latter's Brotherhood of the Snake tour in the United States in April–May 2017. The band also toured Europe in February and March 2018 with Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit for an Autopsy, and Australia in May with Death Angel.
The first official Sepultura documentary, Sepultura Endurance, was premiered in May 2017 and released on June 17. Max and Igor declined to be interviewed for the film and also refused to allow early material of the band to be used.
In an August 2018 interview at Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album, and stated later that month that it was not expected to be released before 2020. The band began recording the album, again with producer Bogren, in August 2019 for a tentative February 2020 release.
In October 2019, during their performance at Rock in Rio 8, the band announced the name and revealed the cover for their fifteenth studio album, which would be named Quadra. They also played the lead single, named "Isolation", which is also the opening track for the album. On November 8, they released the studio version of "Isolation" and announced that Quadra would be released on February 7, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sepultura had not been able to tour or play any shows in support of Quadra for over two years after its release. They played their first show in two years at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro on February 12, 2022. The band will promote Quadra by touring the United States with Sacred Reich, Crowbar and Art of Shock, and Europe with the two-thirds of US leg (only Sacred Reich and Crowbar remaining); due to the COVID-19 situation, the tours had been rescheduled to two years from March and April 2020 and a year from the fall of 2021 respectively.
Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled SepulQuarta, which includes contributions by members of Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, System of a Down, Trivium and Sacred Reich.
Musical style, influences, and legacy
Sepultura's early influences were heavy metal and hard rock groups such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Venom, Celtic Frost, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake, as well as thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction and death metal bands Possessed and Death. They were also influenced by punk rock music, including bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Discharge, S.O.D., Amebix and New Model Army. Andreas Kisser has affirmed that "without Slayer, Sepultura would never be possible."
Sepultura's music comes in a wide range of heavy metal musical styles. The band has been described mainly as thrash metal and death metal, and considered one of the primary inventors of the latter genre. Another genre the band has been commonly categorized under is groove metal. The band later on started experimenting with elements of other musical genres such as hardcore punk, industrial metal, alternative metal, world music and nu metal.
Elements of Latin music, samba and Brazilian folk and tribal music have also been incorporated into Sepultura's metal style, particularly on Roots. Roots was partly recorded with the indigenous Xavante tribe in Mato Grosso, and incorporates percussion, rhythms, chanting and lyrical themes inspired by the collaboration.
Looking back on the band's career arc for a 2016 article on Max and Igor Cavalera's retrospective Return to Roots tour (in commemoration of the album's 20th anniversary), Nashville Scene contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni observed that "Before Chaos A.D., the overwhelming majority of metal had a 'white' feel to it. Sepultura changed that forever. And with Roots, the band went a step further, asserting once and for all that the genre can accommodate native stylings from any culture, much like jazz had done for decades prior."
MTV has called Sepultura the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history and "perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s." In 1993, Robert Baird of Phoenix New Times wrote that the band played "machine-gun-tempo mayhem" and that the members "love to attack organized religion and repressive government."
A number of bands have cited Sepultura as an influence, including Slipknot, Korn, Hatebreed, Alien Weaponry, Krisiun, Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Xibalba, Vein, Toxic Holocaust, Code Orange, Puya and Nails.
Band members
Current members
Paulo Jr. – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)
Andreas Kisser – lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–present), lead vocals (1996–1998)
Derrick Green – lead vocals (1998–present), additional rhythm guitar (1998–2005)
Eloy Casagrande – drums, percussion (2011–present)
Former members
Vocalists
Wagner Lamounier (1984–1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Rhythm guitarists
Cássio (1984)
Roberto UFO (1984)
Julio Cesar Vieira Franco (1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Lead guitarists
Max Cavalera (1984–1985)
Jairo Guedz (1985–1987)
Bassists
Roberto "Gato" Raffan (1984)
Drummers
Beto Pinga (1984)
Igor Cavalera (1984–2006)
Jean Dolabella (2006–2011)
Touring musicians
Silvio Golfetti – lead guitar (1991)
Guilherme Martin – drums (2005)
Roy Mayorga – drums (2006)
Amilcar Christófaro – drums (2011)
Kevin Foley – drums (2013)
Timeline
Discography
Morbid Visions (1986)
Schizophrenia (1987)
Beneath the Remains (1989)
Arise (1991)
Chaos A.D. (1993)
Roots (1996)
Against (1998)
Nation (2001)
Roorback (2003)
Dante XXI (2006)
A-Lex (2009)
Kairos (2011)
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2013)
Machine Messiah (2017)
Quadra (2020)
Notes
References
Bibliography
Anonymous (May 2003). Beneath the Remains. In: A Megaton Hit Parade: The All-Time Thrash Top 20. Terrorizer No. 109, page 35.
Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34.
Colmatti, Andréa (1997). Sepultura: Igor Cavalera. Modern Drummer Brasil, 6, 18–26, 28–30.
Hinchliffe, James (December 2006). Beneath the Remains. In: Death Metal|The DM Top 40. Terrorizer No. 151, page 54.
Lemos, Anamaria (1993). Caos Desencanado. Bizz, 98, 40–45.
Schwarz, Paul (2005). Morbid Visions. In: The First Wave. Terrorizer, 128, 42.
Sepultura (1996). Roots. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).
External links
Brazilian thrash metal musical groups
Brazilian death metal musical groups
Brazilian musical groups
Roadrunner Records artists
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups from Belo Horizonte
Alternative metal musical groups
Musical quartets
Groove metal musical groups
Brazilian heavy metal musical groups
Nuclear Blast artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
1984 establishments in Brazil | true | [
"Focko Ukena (Neermoor, 1360 or 1370 – 1435) was an East Frisian chieftain (hovetling) who played an important part in the struggle between the Vetkopers and Schieringers in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. Aside from this he was one of the leading figures in the resistance against the forts of stately authority in East-Frisia of the tom Brok family.\n\nFrisian freedom\nMedieval and early modern Frisia (roughly the modern Dutch provinces of Groningen and Friesland, and the German coastal region of East Frisia) enjoyed what was known as the Frisian freedom, where virtually no state authority was exerted on the populace. This freedom was threatened from several sides.\n\nIn what is now East Frisia, the family of tom Brok was attempting to establish a dynasty. In what is now the province of Friesland, the counts of Holland were expanding their influence. The city of Groningen was also trying to expand its power. Through all of this the rivalry of the Vetkopers and Schieringers played out.\n\nRole of Ukena\nUkena was originally a military commander under Keno tom Brok. As such he defeated Sicka Sjaerda at Noordhorn in 1417, and conquered Dokkum in 1418. After the reconquest of Dokkum by the Schieringers, he disembarked at Hindeloopen and defeated the Schieringers at the Palesloot.\n\nUkena took Stavoren and besieged Sloten, but was forced to withdraw by the troops of John III, Duke of Bavaria, Count of Holland. Ukena was the first to sign the Peace of Groningen on 1 February 1422, which was aimed against all foreign lords. Next he battled with the Hansa against the Likedelers, and expelled them from Ezumazijl and Dokkum. Afterwards he turned against tom Brok and was primarily active in East Frisia.\n\nUkena was unable to sustain his resistance to tom Brok, and eventually retreated to the castle of Dijkhuizen at Appingedam, which was the property of his second wife, Hiddeke Ripperda. He died there in 1435. His resistance eventually prevented tom Brok from taking the much-wanted County of East Frisia.\n\nReferences\n\n14th-century births\n1435 deaths\nEast Frisian chieftains\nHistory of Friesland\nHistory of Groningen (province)\nYear of birth uncertain\nPeople from Leer (district)",
"Kamal Anilkumar Somaia (born 22 July 1968) is a former English cricketer. Somaia was a right-handed batsman who was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He was born at Wembley, London.\n\nSomaia made his debut for Glamorgan in a List-A match against Somerset in 1989. He played one further List-A match for the county in the 1989 season, which was against Derbyshire. His first-class debut for the county came in the same season against Gloucestershire. During the 1989 season, he played 2 further first-class matches for the county against Derbyshire and Leicestershire, against whom he took his only five wicket haul of 5/87 in what was his final first-class match.\n\nSomaia also played 2 Minor Counties Championship matches for Staffordshire at Lichfield Road against Northumberland and Norfolk. In 1990, he played 2 MCCA Knockout Trophy matches for the county, both coming against Oxfordshire.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nKamal Somaia at Cricinfo\nKamal Somaia at CricketArchive\n\n1968 births\nLiving people\nCricketers from Wembley\nSportspeople from London\nEnglish cricketers\nGlamorgan cricketers\nStaffordshire cricketers"
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"Sepultura",
"Against, Nation and Roorback (1998-2005)",
"What was Against?",
"Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records."
]
| C_e38bef0651564b979590115c22c6acb1_1 | When was it released? | 2 | When was Against released? | Sepultura | Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come". The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album -- he has no problem going that extra mile -- and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in Sao Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band. CANNOTANSWER | "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. | Sepultura (, "grave") is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
The band has had several lineup changes throughout its existence, with Max and Igor Cavalera departing in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Sepultura's current lineup consists of vocalist Derrick Green (who replaced Max in 1998), guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande (who replaced Igor's successor Jean Dolabella in 2011). Since Igor Cavalera's departure in 2006, there have been no original members left in the band. Although Paulo Jr. joined Sepultura shortly after its formation in late 1984 and is the longest serving member, he did not play on any of the band's studio albums until Chaos A.D. (1993). Kisser, who replaced onetime guitarist Jairo Guedz, has appeared on all of Sepultura's records since their second full-length Schizophrenia (1987); he also recorded bass guitar until Chaos A.D..
Sepultura has released fifteen studio albums to date, the latest being Quadra (2020). Their most successful records are Beneath the Remains (1989), Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over three million units in the United States and almost 20 million worldwide, gaining multiple gold and platinum records around the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus, and their native Brazil.
History
Formation, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions (1984–1986)
Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The band was founded by teen brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the impoverished sons of Vânia, a model, and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial ruin. Graciliano's death deeply affected his sons, inspiring them to form a band after Max heard the album Black Sabbath Vol. 4 the very same day. They chose the band name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for "grave", when Max translated the lyrics of the Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave".
The brothers' early influences included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, and metal and hard rock artists of the early 1980s, such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and V8. They would travel to a record shop in São Paulo that mixed tapes of the latest records by American bands. Their listening habits changed dramatically after being introduced to Venom. As Igor Cavalera put it:
The Cavalera brothers started listening to bands such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, and Exciter. They also had influences on Brazilian metal from bands like Stress, Sagrado Inferno, and Dorsal Atlântica. By 1984, they had dropped out of school. After several early membership changes, Sepultura established a stable lineup of Max on guitar, Igor on drums, vocalist Wagner Lamounier, and bassist Paulo Jr. Lamounier departed in March 1985 after disagreements with the band, and moved on to become the leader of the pioneering Brazilian black metal band Sarcófago. After his departure, Max took over the vocal duties. Jairo Guedes was invited to join the band as lead guitarist.
After about a year of performing, Sepultura signed to Cogumelo Records in 1985. Later that year, they released Bestial Devastation, a shared EP with fellow Brazilian band Overdose. It was recorded and self-produced in just two days. The band recorded their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, in August 1986. It contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom", which gained some media attention. The band then decided to relocate to the larger city of São Paulo.
Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains, and Arise (1987–1992)
In early 1987, Jairo Guedz quit the band. Guedz was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser, and they released their second studio album, Schizophrenia, later that year. The album reflected a stylistic change towards a more thrash metal-oriented sound, while still keeping the death metal elements of Morbid Visions. Schizophrenia was an improvement in production and performance, and became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America as a much sought-after import. The band sent tapes to the United States that made radio playlists at a time when they were struggling to book gigs, because club owners were afraid to book them due to their style. The band gained attention from Roadrunner Records who signed them and released Schizophrenia internationally before seeing the band perform in person.
During a May 2018 interview with teenyrockers.com, Kisser noted that Sepultura would not have been possible without family support, not only from his own family, but also from the families of Max and Igor, and Paulo Jr.
The band's third studio album, Beneath the Remains, was released in 1989. The album was recorded in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro while the band communicated through translators with the American producer Scott Burns. It was an immediate success and became known in thrash metal circles as a classic on the order of Slayer's Reign in Blood. It was hailed by Terrorizer magazine as one of the all-time top 20 thrash metal albums, as well as gaining a place in their all-time top 40 death metal records. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "The complete absence of filler here makes this one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time." A long European and American tour furthered the band's reputation, despite the fact that they were still very limited English speakers. Sepultura's first live dates outside of Brazil were opening for Sodom on their Agent Orange tour in Europe; following this was Sepultura's first US show, which was held on October 31, 1989 at the Ritz in New York City, opening for Danish heavy metal band King Diamond. The band filmed its first video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America. Touring in support of Beneath the Remains continued throughout much of 1990, including three shows in Brazil with Napalm Death, European dates with Mordred and a US tour with Obituary and Sadus.
In January 1991, Sepultura played for more than 100,000 people at the Rock in Rio II festival. The band relocated from their native Brazil to Phoenix, Arizona in 1990, obtained new management, and recorded the album Arise at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. By the time the album was released in March 1991, the band had become one of the most critically praised thrash/death metal bands of the time. The first single "Dead Embryonic Cells" was a success, and the title track gained additional attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery; it did, however, get some airplay on Headbangers Ball as did the music videos for "Dead Embryonic Cells" and "Desperate Cry". Arise was critically acclaimed and their first to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 119.
Sepultura toured relentlessly throughout 1991 and 1992 in support of Arise; its touring cycle began in May 1991 with a European trek with Sacred Reich and Heathen, followed by the New Titans on the Block tour in the US that included support from Sacred Reich, Napalm Death and Sick of It All. They also played with several other bands, including Slayer, Testament, Motörhead, Kreator, White Zombie, Type O Negative and Fudge Tunnel, and along with Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tears tour. Max Cavalera married the band's manager Gloria Bujnowski during this period. The Arise tour concluded in December 1992 with a US tour, where the band (along with Helmet) supported Ministry's Psalm 69 tour.
Chaos A.D., Nailbomb and Roots (1993–1996)
Sepultura's fifth album, Chaos A.D., was released in 1993. Supported by the singles "Refuse/Resist", "Territory" and "Slave New World", this was their only album to be released in North America by Epic Records, and the first of two albums by Sepultura to be certified gold there. It saw a departure from their death metal style, adding influences of groove metal, industrial and hardcore punk. While Chaos A.D. is not a death metal album, the album does include elements of thrash metal music. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that, "Chaos A.D. ranks as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time." The band did a year-long tour in support of Chaos A.D., starting with a headlining European run with Paradise Lost, followed by a US tour with Fudge Tunnel, Fear Factory and Clutch. They were also one of the support acts (along with Biohazard and Prong) for Pantera's Far Beyond Driven tour in North America, and then opened for the Ramones in South America and toured Australia and New Zealand with Sacred Reich. By the time the Chaos A.D. tour ended in November 1994, Sepultura was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the day.
Also in 1994, Max and Igor collaborated with Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel to form Nailbomb. They released an even more industrial-oriented album, Point Blank the same year. The group performed only one full live gig at Dynamo Open Air in 1995, and the performance was released as Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb was disbanded shortly afterwards.
Sepultura's sound change continued with their sixth album, Roots, which was released in 1996. On this album the band experimented with elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples, and adopted a slower, down-tuned sound. The album was hailed as a modern-day heavy metal classic and a major influence on the then-nascent nu metal scene. AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s." In 1996, Sepultura performed "War (Guerra)" for the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Departure of Max Cavalera, Derrick Green joins and Against (1996–2000)
In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock main stage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Fear Factory. The band was suddenly a three-piece with Andreas Kisser taking over on lead vocals, after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of the death of his stepson Dana Wells in a car accident. After Dana Wells' funeral was finished, Max returned and continued to tour with Sepultura. A few months after Wells' death, the band had a meeting with Max and said that they wanted to fire their manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was Max's wife and Dana's mother, and find new management. Their reasoning was that Bujnowski was giving preferential treatment to Max while neglecting the rest of the band. Max, who was still coming to terms with the death of Wells, felt betrayed by his bandmates for wanting to get rid of Bujnowski and abruptly quit the band. Max Cavalera's final performance with Sepultura was at Brixton Academy in England on December 16, 1996.
Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. In a retrospective review AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come".
Nation and Roorback (2001–2005)
The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gives the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records.
After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album — he has no problem going that extra mile — and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in São Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band.
Dante XXI, A-Lex, and departure of Igor Cavalera (2006–2010)
Sepultura's tenth album, Dante XXI, was released on March 14, 2006. It is a concept album based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Music videos were recorded for the songs "Convicted in Life" and "Ostia". AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Overall, Dante XXI is easily one of Sepultura's strongest releases to feature Green on vocals."
In a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom having recently reconciled after a decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup. There were also rumors that the reunited line up would play on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007. However, this was denied by Kisser and the reunion did not occur. Instead, Igor Cavalera left the band after the release of Dante XXI and was replaced by Brazilian drummer Jean Dolabella, leaving the band without any of its original members. After leaving Sepultura, Igor and Max formed Cavalera Conspiracy.
The band was one of the featured musical guests at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13. They performed a cover of "The Girl from Ipanema", and "We've Lost You" from the album A-Lex. The 9th annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and aired on Univision. Sepultura also appeared in a successful ad campaign for Volkswagen motors commercial that aired nationally throughout Brazil in 2008. The spot said that "it's the first time you've seen Sepultura like this. And a Sedan like this one too". The Volkswagen TV spot shows Sepultura playing bossa nova, the opposite of its heavy metal style, to say that "you never saw something like this, as you never saw a car like the new Voyage."
Sepultura released the album A-Lex on January 26, 2009. This was the first Sepultura album to include neither of the Cavalera brothers, with bassist Paulo Jr. as the sole remaining member from the band's debut album. A-Lex is a concept album based on the book A Clockwork Orange. The album was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, with producer Stanley Soares. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Personnel changes can have a very negative effect on a band, but Sepultura have maintained their vitality all these years – and that vitality is alive and well on the superb A-Lex." In the same year Andreas Kisser contributed his recipe for "Churrasco in Soy Sauce" to Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook, stating in the recipe that he prefers his meat "medium-rare". Sepultura supported Metallica on January 30 and 31, 2010, at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. The two concerts were attended by 100,000 people. The band filmed a concert DVD in 2010. Sepultura played at Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, on April 27, 2010. On August 8, 2010 visited the UK to play at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone.
Kairos and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2010–2015)
On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura were signed with Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. The band confirmed that there would be no reunion of the classic lineup. By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their 12th album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Andre Matos). On March 1, 2011, Sepultura had completed recording their new album, entitled Kairos, which was released in June 2011.
The album includes cover versions of Ministry's "Just One Fix" and The Prodigy's "Firestarter", both of which are available as bonus tracks on various special-edition releases. Sepultura played on the Kairos World Tour and at Wacken Open Air 2011. Drummer Jean Dolabella left the band and was replaced by 20-year-old Eloy Casagrande in November 2011, who had already played in Brazilian heavy metal singer Andre Matos' solo band and in the Brazilian post-hardcore band Gloria. In November and December 2011 Sepultura participated the Thrashfest Classics 2011 tour alongside thrash metal bands like Exodus, Destruction, Heathen, and Mortal Sin.
In May 2012, guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year". In an interview at England's Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group Les Tambours du Bronx. He also revealed that the band was "already thinking about new ideas" for their next album and would "have something new going on" in 2013.
On December 10, 2012, producer Ross Robinson, who produced Sepultura's Roots album, tweeted: "Oh, didn't mention.. Spoke to Andreas, it's on. My vision, smoke Roots" suggesting he would be producing the band's next album. This was later confirmed, as well as an announcement that the album would be co-produced by Steve Evetts. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo made a guest appearance on the album.
On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career." Relentless was published on October 8, 2014 in Poland under the title Brazylijska Furia, and the English language edition was published via Rocket 88 on December 4, 2014. The Brazilian edition, titled Relentless – 30 Anos de Sepultura, is scheduled for publication via Benvira in early 2015. The French language edition of "Relentless" was published in France on October 19, 2015.
On July 19, 2013, it was revealed that the title of the band's thirteenth album was The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. In September 2013, they performed at Rock in Rio with Brazilian rock/MPB artist Zé Ramalho – this line-up was named "Zépultura", a portmanteau of both artists' names.
Machine Messiah and Quadra (2016–present)
After spending more than two years of touring in support of The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, Sepultura entered the studio in mid-2016 to begin recording their fourteenth studio album, with Jens Bogren as the producer. The resulting album, Machine Messiah, was released on January 13, 2017. Sepultura promoted the album with a series of world tours, including supporting Kreator on their Gods of Violence tour in Europe in February–March 2017, and along with Prong, they supported Testament on the latter's Brotherhood of the Snake tour in the United States in April–May 2017. The band also toured Europe in February and March 2018 with Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit for an Autopsy, and Australia in May with Death Angel.
The first official Sepultura documentary, Sepultura Endurance, was premiered in May 2017 and released on June 17. Max and Igor declined to be interviewed for the film and also refused to allow early material of the band to be used.
In an August 2018 interview at Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album, and stated later that month that it was not expected to be released before 2020. The band began recording the album, again with producer Bogren, in August 2019 for a tentative February 2020 release.
In October 2019, during their performance at Rock in Rio 8, the band announced the name and revealed the cover for their fifteenth studio album, which would be named Quadra. They also played the lead single, named "Isolation", which is also the opening track for the album. On November 8, they released the studio version of "Isolation" and announced that Quadra would be released on February 7, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sepultura had not been able to tour or play any shows in support of Quadra for over two years after its release. They played their first show in two years at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro on February 12, 2022. The band will promote Quadra by touring the United States with Sacred Reich, Crowbar and Art of Shock, and Europe with the two-thirds of US leg (only Sacred Reich and Crowbar remaining); due to the COVID-19 situation, the tours had been rescheduled to two years from March and April 2020 and a year from the fall of 2021 respectively.
Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled SepulQuarta, which includes contributions by members of Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, System of a Down, Trivium and Sacred Reich.
Musical style, influences, and legacy
Sepultura's early influences were heavy metal and hard rock groups such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Venom, Celtic Frost, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake, as well as thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction and death metal bands Possessed and Death. They were also influenced by punk rock music, including bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Discharge, S.O.D., Amebix and New Model Army. Andreas Kisser has affirmed that "without Slayer, Sepultura would never be possible."
Sepultura's music comes in a wide range of heavy metal musical styles. The band has been described mainly as thrash metal and death metal, and considered one of the primary inventors of the latter genre. Another genre the band has been commonly categorized under is groove metal. The band later on started experimenting with elements of other musical genres such as hardcore punk, industrial metal, alternative metal, world music and nu metal.
Elements of Latin music, samba and Brazilian folk and tribal music have also been incorporated into Sepultura's metal style, particularly on Roots. Roots was partly recorded with the indigenous Xavante tribe in Mato Grosso, and incorporates percussion, rhythms, chanting and lyrical themes inspired by the collaboration.
Looking back on the band's career arc for a 2016 article on Max and Igor Cavalera's retrospective Return to Roots tour (in commemoration of the album's 20th anniversary), Nashville Scene contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni observed that "Before Chaos A.D., the overwhelming majority of metal had a 'white' feel to it. Sepultura changed that forever. And with Roots, the band went a step further, asserting once and for all that the genre can accommodate native stylings from any culture, much like jazz had done for decades prior."
MTV has called Sepultura the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history and "perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s." In 1993, Robert Baird of Phoenix New Times wrote that the band played "machine-gun-tempo mayhem" and that the members "love to attack organized religion and repressive government."
A number of bands have cited Sepultura as an influence, including Slipknot, Korn, Hatebreed, Alien Weaponry, Krisiun, Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Xibalba, Vein, Toxic Holocaust, Code Orange, Puya and Nails.
Band members
Current members
Paulo Jr. – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)
Andreas Kisser – lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–present), lead vocals (1996–1998)
Derrick Green – lead vocals (1998–present), additional rhythm guitar (1998–2005)
Eloy Casagrande – drums, percussion (2011–present)
Former members
Vocalists
Wagner Lamounier (1984–1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Rhythm guitarists
Cássio (1984)
Roberto UFO (1984)
Julio Cesar Vieira Franco (1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Lead guitarists
Max Cavalera (1984–1985)
Jairo Guedz (1985–1987)
Bassists
Roberto "Gato" Raffan (1984)
Drummers
Beto Pinga (1984)
Igor Cavalera (1984–2006)
Jean Dolabella (2006–2011)
Touring musicians
Silvio Golfetti – lead guitar (1991)
Guilherme Martin – drums (2005)
Roy Mayorga – drums (2006)
Amilcar Christófaro – drums (2011)
Kevin Foley – drums (2013)
Timeline
Discography
Morbid Visions (1986)
Schizophrenia (1987)
Beneath the Remains (1989)
Arise (1991)
Chaos A.D. (1993)
Roots (1996)
Against (1998)
Nation (2001)
Roorback (2003)
Dante XXI (2006)
A-Lex (2009)
Kairos (2011)
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2013)
Machine Messiah (2017)
Quadra (2020)
Notes
References
Bibliography
Anonymous (May 2003). Beneath the Remains. In: A Megaton Hit Parade: The All-Time Thrash Top 20. Terrorizer No. 109, page 35.
Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34.
Colmatti, Andréa (1997). Sepultura: Igor Cavalera. Modern Drummer Brasil, 6, 18–26, 28–30.
Hinchliffe, James (December 2006). Beneath the Remains. In: Death Metal|The DM Top 40. Terrorizer No. 151, page 54.
Lemos, Anamaria (1993). Caos Desencanado. Bizz, 98, 40–45.
Schwarz, Paul (2005). Morbid Visions. In: The First Wave. Terrorizer, 128, 42.
Sepultura (1996). Roots. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).
External links
Brazilian thrash metal musical groups
Brazilian death metal musical groups
Brazilian musical groups
Roadrunner Records artists
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups from Belo Horizonte
Alternative metal musical groups
Musical quartets
Groove metal musical groups
Brazilian heavy metal musical groups
Nuclear Blast artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
1984 establishments in Brazil | true | [
"When the Bough Breaks is the second solo album from Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. It was originally released on April 27, 1997, on Cleopatra Records.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Hate\" – 5:00\n\"Children Killing Children\" – 3:51\n\"Growth\" – 5:45\n\"When I was a Child\" – 4:54\n\"Please Help Mommy (She's a Junkie)\" – 6:40\n\"Shine\" – 5:06\n\"Step Lightly (On the Grass)\" – 5:59\n\"Love & Innocence\" – 1:00\n\"Animals\" – 6:32\n\"Nighthawks Stars & Pines\" – 6:45\n\"Try Life\" – 5:35\n\"When the Bough Breaks\" – 9:45\n\nCD Cleopatra CL9981 (US 1997)\n\nMusicians\n\nBill Ward - vocals, lyrics, musical arrangements\nKeith Lynch - guitars\nPaul Ill - bass, double bass, synthesizer, tape loops\nRonnie Ciago - drums\n\nCover art and reprint issues\n\nAs originally released, this album featured cover art that had two roses on it. After it was released, Bill Ward (as with Ward One, his first solo album) stated on his website that the released cover art was not the correct one that was intended to be released. Additionally, the liner notes for the original printing had lyrics that were so small, most people needed a magnifying glass to read them. This was eventually corrected in 2000 when the version of the album with Bill on the cover from the 70's was released. The album was later on released in a special digipak style of case, but this was later said to be released prematurely, and was withdrawn.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nWhen the Bough Breaks at Bill Ward's site\nWhen the Bough Breaks at Black Sabbath Online\n\nBill Ward (musician) albums\nBlack Sabbath\n1997 albums\nCleopatra Records albums",
"Joseph Jin Dechen (; June 19, 1919 – November 21, 2002) was a Chinese Catholic priest and Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanyang.\n\nBiography\nHe was ordained a priest in 1944. In 1958, he was arrested for the first time and sentenced to life in prison. This sentence was settled and he was released in 1973. In December 1981, when he was Bishop Emeritus in Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanyang, he was again arrested, charged with resistance to abortion and birth control, and was sentenced to 15 years of prison and five years of subsequent loss of political rights on July 27, 1982. He was detained in the Third Province Prison in Yu County (now Yuzhou), near Zhengzhou in Henan, and was pardoned and released in May 1992 and ordered to stay in his village Jinjiajiang, near Nanyang. He was out of weakness when he was released from prison.\n\nReferences\n\n1919 births\n2002 deaths\n20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China"
]
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"Sepultura",
"Against, Nation and Roorback (1998-2005)",
"What was Against?",
"Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records.",
"When was it released?",
"\"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good."
]
| C_e38bef0651564b979590115c22c6acb1_1 | Who was quoted saying that line? | 3 | Who was quoted saying "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good"? | Sepultura | Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come". The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album -- he has no problem going that extra mile -- and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in Sao Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band. CANNOTANSWER | AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's | Sepultura (, "grave") is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
The band has had several lineup changes throughout its existence, with Max and Igor Cavalera departing in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Sepultura's current lineup consists of vocalist Derrick Green (who replaced Max in 1998), guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande (who replaced Igor's successor Jean Dolabella in 2011). Since Igor Cavalera's departure in 2006, there have been no original members left in the band. Although Paulo Jr. joined Sepultura shortly after its formation in late 1984 and is the longest serving member, he did not play on any of the band's studio albums until Chaos A.D. (1993). Kisser, who replaced onetime guitarist Jairo Guedz, has appeared on all of Sepultura's records since their second full-length Schizophrenia (1987); he also recorded bass guitar until Chaos A.D..
Sepultura has released fifteen studio albums to date, the latest being Quadra (2020). Their most successful records are Beneath the Remains (1989), Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over three million units in the United States and almost 20 million worldwide, gaining multiple gold and platinum records around the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus, and their native Brazil.
History
Formation, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions (1984–1986)
Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The band was founded by teen brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the impoverished sons of Vânia, a model, and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial ruin. Graciliano's death deeply affected his sons, inspiring them to form a band after Max heard the album Black Sabbath Vol. 4 the very same day. They chose the band name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for "grave", when Max translated the lyrics of the Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave".
The brothers' early influences included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, and metal and hard rock artists of the early 1980s, such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and V8. They would travel to a record shop in São Paulo that mixed tapes of the latest records by American bands. Their listening habits changed dramatically after being introduced to Venom. As Igor Cavalera put it:
The Cavalera brothers started listening to bands such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, and Exciter. They also had influences on Brazilian metal from bands like Stress, Sagrado Inferno, and Dorsal Atlântica. By 1984, they had dropped out of school. After several early membership changes, Sepultura established a stable lineup of Max on guitar, Igor on drums, vocalist Wagner Lamounier, and bassist Paulo Jr. Lamounier departed in March 1985 after disagreements with the band, and moved on to become the leader of the pioneering Brazilian black metal band Sarcófago. After his departure, Max took over the vocal duties. Jairo Guedes was invited to join the band as lead guitarist.
After about a year of performing, Sepultura signed to Cogumelo Records in 1985. Later that year, they released Bestial Devastation, a shared EP with fellow Brazilian band Overdose. It was recorded and self-produced in just two days. The band recorded their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, in August 1986. It contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom", which gained some media attention. The band then decided to relocate to the larger city of São Paulo.
Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains, and Arise (1987–1992)
In early 1987, Jairo Guedz quit the band. Guedz was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser, and they released their second studio album, Schizophrenia, later that year. The album reflected a stylistic change towards a more thrash metal-oriented sound, while still keeping the death metal elements of Morbid Visions. Schizophrenia was an improvement in production and performance, and became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America as a much sought-after import. The band sent tapes to the United States that made radio playlists at a time when they were struggling to book gigs, because club owners were afraid to book them due to their style. The band gained attention from Roadrunner Records who signed them and released Schizophrenia internationally before seeing the band perform in person.
During a May 2018 interview with teenyrockers.com, Kisser noted that Sepultura would not have been possible without family support, not only from his own family, but also from the families of Max and Igor, and Paulo Jr.
The band's third studio album, Beneath the Remains, was released in 1989. The album was recorded in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro while the band communicated through translators with the American producer Scott Burns. It was an immediate success and became known in thrash metal circles as a classic on the order of Slayer's Reign in Blood. It was hailed by Terrorizer magazine as one of the all-time top 20 thrash metal albums, as well as gaining a place in their all-time top 40 death metal records. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "The complete absence of filler here makes this one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time." A long European and American tour furthered the band's reputation, despite the fact that they were still very limited English speakers. Sepultura's first live dates outside of Brazil were opening for Sodom on their Agent Orange tour in Europe; following this was Sepultura's first US show, which was held on October 31, 1989 at the Ritz in New York City, opening for Danish heavy metal band King Diamond. The band filmed its first video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America. Touring in support of Beneath the Remains continued throughout much of 1990, including three shows in Brazil with Napalm Death, European dates with Mordred and a US tour with Obituary and Sadus.
In January 1991, Sepultura played for more than 100,000 people at the Rock in Rio II festival. The band relocated from their native Brazil to Phoenix, Arizona in 1990, obtained new management, and recorded the album Arise at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. By the time the album was released in March 1991, the band had become one of the most critically praised thrash/death metal bands of the time. The first single "Dead Embryonic Cells" was a success, and the title track gained additional attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery; it did, however, get some airplay on Headbangers Ball as did the music videos for "Dead Embryonic Cells" and "Desperate Cry". Arise was critically acclaimed and their first to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 119.
Sepultura toured relentlessly throughout 1991 and 1992 in support of Arise; its touring cycle began in May 1991 with a European trek with Sacred Reich and Heathen, followed by the New Titans on the Block tour in the US that included support from Sacred Reich, Napalm Death and Sick of It All. They also played with several other bands, including Slayer, Testament, Motörhead, Kreator, White Zombie, Type O Negative and Fudge Tunnel, and along with Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tears tour. Max Cavalera married the band's manager Gloria Bujnowski during this period. The Arise tour concluded in December 1992 with a US tour, where the band (along with Helmet) supported Ministry's Psalm 69 tour.
Chaos A.D., Nailbomb and Roots (1993–1996)
Sepultura's fifth album, Chaos A.D., was released in 1993. Supported by the singles "Refuse/Resist", "Territory" and "Slave New World", this was their only album to be released in North America by Epic Records, and the first of two albums by Sepultura to be certified gold there. It saw a departure from their death metal style, adding influences of groove metal, industrial and hardcore punk. While Chaos A.D. is not a death metal album, the album does include elements of thrash metal music. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that, "Chaos A.D. ranks as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time." The band did a year-long tour in support of Chaos A.D., starting with a headlining European run with Paradise Lost, followed by a US tour with Fudge Tunnel, Fear Factory and Clutch. They were also one of the support acts (along with Biohazard and Prong) for Pantera's Far Beyond Driven tour in North America, and then opened for the Ramones in South America and toured Australia and New Zealand with Sacred Reich. By the time the Chaos A.D. tour ended in November 1994, Sepultura was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the day.
Also in 1994, Max and Igor collaborated with Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel to form Nailbomb. They released an even more industrial-oriented album, Point Blank the same year. The group performed only one full live gig at Dynamo Open Air in 1995, and the performance was released as Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb was disbanded shortly afterwards.
Sepultura's sound change continued with their sixth album, Roots, which was released in 1996. On this album the band experimented with elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples, and adopted a slower, down-tuned sound. The album was hailed as a modern-day heavy metal classic and a major influence on the then-nascent nu metal scene. AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s." In 1996, Sepultura performed "War (Guerra)" for the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Departure of Max Cavalera, Derrick Green joins and Against (1996–2000)
In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock main stage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Fear Factory. The band was suddenly a three-piece with Andreas Kisser taking over on lead vocals, after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of the death of his stepson Dana Wells in a car accident. After Dana Wells' funeral was finished, Max returned and continued to tour with Sepultura. A few months after Wells' death, the band had a meeting with Max and said that they wanted to fire their manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was Max's wife and Dana's mother, and find new management. Their reasoning was that Bujnowski was giving preferential treatment to Max while neglecting the rest of the band. Max, who was still coming to terms with the death of Wells, felt betrayed by his bandmates for wanting to get rid of Bujnowski and abruptly quit the band. Max Cavalera's final performance with Sepultura was at Brixton Academy in England on December 16, 1996.
Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. In a retrospective review AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come".
Nation and Roorback (2001–2005)
The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gives the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records.
After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album — he has no problem going that extra mile — and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in São Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band.
Dante XXI, A-Lex, and departure of Igor Cavalera (2006–2010)
Sepultura's tenth album, Dante XXI, was released on March 14, 2006. It is a concept album based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Music videos were recorded for the songs "Convicted in Life" and "Ostia". AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Overall, Dante XXI is easily one of Sepultura's strongest releases to feature Green on vocals."
In a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom having recently reconciled after a decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup. There were also rumors that the reunited line up would play on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007. However, this was denied by Kisser and the reunion did not occur. Instead, Igor Cavalera left the band after the release of Dante XXI and was replaced by Brazilian drummer Jean Dolabella, leaving the band without any of its original members. After leaving Sepultura, Igor and Max formed Cavalera Conspiracy.
The band was one of the featured musical guests at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13. They performed a cover of "The Girl from Ipanema", and "We've Lost You" from the album A-Lex. The 9th annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and aired on Univision. Sepultura also appeared in a successful ad campaign for Volkswagen motors commercial that aired nationally throughout Brazil in 2008. The spot said that "it's the first time you've seen Sepultura like this. And a Sedan like this one too". The Volkswagen TV spot shows Sepultura playing bossa nova, the opposite of its heavy metal style, to say that "you never saw something like this, as you never saw a car like the new Voyage."
Sepultura released the album A-Lex on January 26, 2009. This was the first Sepultura album to include neither of the Cavalera brothers, with bassist Paulo Jr. as the sole remaining member from the band's debut album. A-Lex is a concept album based on the book A Clockwork Orange. The album was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, with producer Stanley Soares. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Personnel changes can have a very negative effect on a band, but Sepultura have maintained their vitality all these years – and that vitality is alive and well on the superb A-Lex." In the same year Andreas Kisser contributed his recipe for "Churrasco in Soy Sauce" to Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook, stating in the recipe that he prefers his meat "medium-rare". Sepultura supported Metallica on January 30 and 31, 2010, at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. The two concerts were attended by 100,000 people. The band filmed a concert DVD in 2010. Sepultura played at Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, on April 27, 2010. On August 8, 2010 visited the UK to play at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone.
Kairos and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2010–2015)
On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura were signed with Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. The band confirmed that there would be no reunion of the classic lineup. By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their 12th album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Andre Matos). On March 1, 2011, Sepultura had completed recording their new album, entitled Kairos, which was released in June 2011.
The album includes cover versions of Ministry's "Just One Fix" and The Prodigy's "Firestarter", both of which are available as bonus tracks on various special-edition releases. Sepultura played on the Kairos World Tour and at Wacken Open Air 2011. Drummer Jean Dolabella left the band and was replaced by 20-year-old Eloy Casagrande in November 2011, who had already played in Brazilian heavy metal singer Andre Matos' solo band and in the Brazilian post-hardcore band Gloria. In November and December 2011 Sepultura participated the Thrashfest Classics 2011 tour alongside thrash metal bands like Exodus, Destruction, Heathen, and Mortal Sin.
In May 2012, guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year". In an interview at England's Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group Les Tambours du Bronx. He also revealed that the band was "already thinking about new ideas" for their next album and would "have something new going on" in 2013.
On December 10, 2012, producer Ross Robinson, who produced Sepultura's Roots album, tweeted: "Oh, didn't mention.. Spoke to Andreas, it's on. My vision, smoke Roots" suggesting he would be producing the band's next album. This was later confirmed, as well as an announcement that the album would be co-produced by Steve Evetts. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo made a guest appearance on the album.
On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career." Relentless was published on October 8, 2014 in Poland under the title Brazylijska Furia, and the English language edition was published via Rocket 88 on December 4, 2014. The Brazilian edition, titled Relentless – 30 Anos de Sepultura, is scheduled for publication via Benvira in early 2015. The French language edition of "Relentless" was published in France on October 19, 2015.
On July 19, 2013, it was revealed that the title of the band's thirteenth album was The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. In September 2013, they performed at Rock in Rio with Brazilian rock/MPB artist Zé Ramalho – this line-up was named "Zépultura", a portmanteau of both artists' names.
Machine Messiah and Quadra (2016–present)
After spending more than two years of touring in support of The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, Sepultura entered the studio in mid-2016 to begin recording their fourteenth studio album, with Jens Bogren as the producer. The resulting album, Machine Messiah, was released on January 13, 2017. Sepultura promoted the album with a series of world tours, including supporting Kreator on their Gods of Violence tour in Europe in February–March 2017, and along with Prong, they supported Testament on the latter's Brotherhood of the Snake tour in the United States in April–May 2017. The band also toured Europe in February and March 2018 with Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit for an Autopsy, and Australia in May with Death Angel.
The first official Sepultura documentary, Sepultura Endurance, was premiered in May 2017 and released on June 17. Max and Igor declined to be interviewed for the film and also refused to allow early material of the band to be used.
In an August 2018 interview at Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album, and stated later that month that it was not expected to be released before 2020. The band began recording the album, again with producer Bogren, in August 2019 for a tentative February 2020 release.
In October 2019, during their performance at Rock in Rio 8, the band announced the name and revealed the cover for their fifteenth studio album, which would be named Quadra. They also played the lead single, named "Isolation", which is also the opening track for the album. On November 8, they released the studio version of "Isolation" and announced that Quadra would be released on February 7, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sepultura had not been able to tour or play any shows in support of Quadra for over two years after its release. They played their first show in two years at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro on February 12, 2022. The band will promote Quadra by touring the United States with Sacred Reich, Crowbar and Art of Shock, and Europe with the two-thirds of US leg (only Sacred Reich and Crowbar remaining); due to the COVID-19 situation, the tours had been rescheduled to two years from March and April 2020 and a year from the fall of 2021 respectively.
Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled SepulQuarta, which includes contributions by members of Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, System of a Down, Trivium and Sacred Reich.
Musical style, influences, and legacy
Sepultura's early influences were heavy metal and hard rock groups such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Venom, Celtic Frost, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake, as well as thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction and death metal bands Possessed and Death. They were also influenced by punk rock music, including bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Discharge, S.O.D., Amebix and New Model Army. Andreas Kisser has affirmed that "without Slayer, Sepultura would never be possible."
Sepultura's music comes in a wide range of heavy metal musical styles. The band has been described mainly as thrash metal and death metal, and considered one of the primary inventors of the latter genre. Another genre the band has been commonly categorized under is groove metal. The band later on started experimenting with elements of other musical genres such as hardcore punk, industrial metal, alternative metal, world music and nu metal.
Elements of Latin music, samba and Brazilian folk and tribal music have also been incorporated into Sepultura's metal style, particularly on Roots. Roots was partly recorded with the indigenous Xavante tribe in Mato Grosso, and incorporates percussion, rhythms, chanting and lyrical themes inspired by the collaboration.
Looking back on the band's career arc for a 2016 article on Max and Igor Cavalera's retrospective Return to Roots tour (in commemoration of the album's 20th anniversary), Nashville Scene contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni observed that "Before Chaos A.D., the overwhelming majority of metal had a 'white' feel to it. Sepultura changed that forever. And with Roots, the band went a step further, asserting once and for all that the genre can accommodate native stylings from any culture, much like jazz had done for decades prior."
MTV has called Sepultura the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history and "perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s." In 1993, Robert Baird of Phoenix New Times wrote that the band played "machine-gun-tempo mayhem" and that the members "love to attack organized religion and repressive government."
A number of bands have cited Sepultura as an influence, including Slipknot, Korn, Hatebreed, Alien Weaponry, Krisiun, Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Xibalba, Vein, Toxic Holocaust, Code Orange, Puya and Nails.
Band members
Current members
Paulo Jr. – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)
Andreas Kisser – lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–present), lead vocals (1996–1998)
Derrick Green – lead vocals (1998–present), additional rhythm guitar (1998–2005)
Eloy Casagrande – drums, percussion (2011–present)
Former members
Vocalists
Wagner Lamounier (1984–1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Rhythm guitarists
Cássio (1984)
Roberto UFO (1984)
Julio Cesar Vieira Franco (1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Lead guitarists
Max Cavalera (1984–1985)
Jairo Guedz (1985–1987)
Bassists
Roberto "Gato" Raffan (1984)
Drummers
Beto Pinga (1984)
Igor Cavalera (1984–2006)
Jean Dolabella (2006–2011)
Touring musicians
Silvio Golfetti – lead guitar (1991)
Guilherme Martin – drums (2005)
Roy Mayorga – drums (2006)
Amilcar Christófaro – drums (2011)
Kevin Foley – drums (2013)
Timeline
Discography
Morbid Visions (1986)
Schizophrenia (1987)
Beneath the Remains (1989)
Arise (1991)
Chaos A.D. (1993)
Roots (1996)
Against (1998)
Nation (2001)
Roorback (2003)
Dante XXI (2006)
A-Lex (2009)
Kairos (2011)
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2013)
Machine Messiah (2017)
Quadra (2020)
Notes
References
Bibliography
Anonymous (May 2003). Beneath the Remains. In: A Megaton Hit Parade: The All-Time Thrash Top 20. Terrorizer No. 109, page 35.
Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34.
Colmatti, Andréa (1997). Sepultura: Igor Cavalera. Modern Drummer Brasil, 6, 18–26, 28–30.
Hinchliffe, James (December 2006). Beneath the Remains. In: Death Metal|The DM Top 40. Terrorizer No. 151, page 54.
Lemos, Anamaria (1993). Caos Desencanado. Bizz, 98, 40–45.
Schwarz, Paul (2005). Morbid Visions. In: The First Wave. Terrorizer, 128, 42.
Sepultura (1996). Roots. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).
External links
Brazilian thrash metal musical groups
Brazilian death metal musical groups
Brazilian musical groups
Roadrunner Records artists
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups from Belo Horizonte
Alternative metal musical groups
Musical quartets
Groove metal musical groups
Brazilian heavy metal musical groups
Nuclear Blast artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
1984 establishments in Brazil | true | [
"William Coates (June 2, 1911 – February 24, 2004) was an American man from Maryland who was an unverified claimant as a supercentenarian whose actual age was subsequently disputed. \n\nCoates came to wider prominence when he was covered in a 1999 Washington Post article regarding a celebration of his 110th birthday, with some further coverage in 2002. When Coates died on 24 February 2004, The Washington Post reported that he had \"nine children, 21 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren from two relationships\". \n\nOn his death, news reports said Coates was believed to have been the oldest man in the United States at the age of 114 years, based upon his nursing home records that gave his year of birth as 1889. The reports noted there was no birth certificate, but also noted that a lack of a birth certificate would \"not have been uncommon for African Americans of his generation\". \n\nThe Washington Post quoted the director of a Maryland senior center who had done research on county centenarians as saying Coates was born June 2, 1889. If the claim was correct, Coates was the world's oldest person after the death of Mitoyo Kawate, and its oldest man after the death of Yukichi Chuganji.\n\nHowever, in March 2004, one week after Coates' death, The Washington Post ran a longer follow-up story which quoted the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) who said that a register of William J. Coates with his parents and siblings in the 1930 United States census listed his age as 18 years old. The census data would mean that Coates was 92 at the time of his death. The Washington Post noted in their March 2004 follow-up story that none of Coates' relatives had ever claimed he was 114, and that they knew little of his life. The Post quoted a distressed relative's reaction saying \"The Post should have researched that [earlier, February 2004] story and gotten their facts straight before it was ever released in the first place\". \n\nIn an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2005, GRG Director Robert Young said regarding Coates that \"We had so much information that he was lying\", and \"He was listed as eight years old in the 1920 Census and 18 in the 1930 Census\".\n\nSee also\n Centenarian\n Longevity claims\n Longevity traditions\n Supercentenarian\n\nReferences\n\n1911 births\n2004 deaths\nAfrican-American people\nLongevity claims",
"The Nottingham Psychogeographical Unit was founded in Nottingham, England, in 1994, by Onesto Lusso, Minky Harry and Dade Fasic. It produced videos, writings and mental maps based on psychogeography. It moved to London in 1998.\n\nIn 2002, the unit was quoted in a Guardian article that \"there are already too many buildings\" and that all new developments should stop immediately. Recent new buildings should be torn down according to popular demand from local residents, they were quoted as saying, and \"citizens should be given total administrative power over development\".\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial website\n\nPsychogeography"
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"Sepultura",
"Against, Nation and Roorback (1998-2005)",
"What was Against?",
"Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records.",
"When was it released?",
"\"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good.",
"Who was quoted saying that line?",
"AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, \"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's"
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| C_e38bef0651564b979590115c22c6acb1_1 | Did they album chart? | 4 | Did Roorback chart? | Sepultura | Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come". The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album -- he has no problem going that extra mile -- and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in Sao Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band. CANNOTANSWER | The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. | Sepultura (, "grave") is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
The band has had several lineup changes throughout its existence, with Max and Igor Cavalera departing in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Sepultura's current lineup consists of vocalist Derrick Green (who replaced Max in 1998), guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande (who replaced Igor's successor Jean Dolabella in 2011). Since Igor Cavalera's departure in 2006, there have been no original members left in the band. Although Paulo Jr. joined Sepultura shortly after its formation in late 1984 and is the longest serving member, he did not play on any of the band's studio albums until Chaos A.D. (1993). Kisser, who replaced onetime guitarist Jairo Guedz, has appeared on all of Sepultura's records since their second full-length Schizophrenia (1987); he also recorded bass guitar until Chaos A.D..
Sepultura has released fifteen studio albums to date, the latest being Quadra (2020). Their most successful records are Beneath the Remains (1989), Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over three million units in the United States and almost 20 million worldwide, gaining multiple gold and platinum records around the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus, and their native Brazil.
History
Formation, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions (1984–1986)
Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The band was founded by teen brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the impoverished sons of Vânia, a model, and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial ruin. Graciliano's death deeply affected his sons, inspiring them to form a band after Max heard the album Black Sabbath Vol. 4 the very same day. They chose the band name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for "grave", when Max translated the lyrics of the Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave".
The brothers' early influences included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, and metal and hard rock artists of the early 1980s, such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and V8. They would travel to a record shop in São Paulo that mixed tapes of the latest records by American bands. Their listening habits changed dramatically after being introduced to Venom. As Igor Cavalera put it:
The Cavalera brothers started listening to bands such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, and Exciter. They also had influences on Brazilian metal from bands like Stress, Sagrado Inferno, and Dorsal Atlântica. By 1984, they had dropped out of school. After several early membership changes, Sepultura established a stable lineup of Max on guitar, Igor on drums, vocalist Wagner Lamounier, and bassist Paulo Jr. Lamounier departed in March 1985 after disagreements with the band, and moved on to become the leader of the pioneering Brazilian black metal band Sarcófago. After his departure, Max took over the vocal duties. Jairo Guedes was invited to join the band as lead guitarist.
After about a year of performing, Sepultura signed to Cogumelo Records in 1985. Later that year, they released Bestial Devastation, a shared EP with fellow Brazilian band Overdose. It was recorded and self-produced in just two days. The band recorded their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, in August 1986. It contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom", which gained some media attention. The band then decided to relocate to the larger city of São Paulo.
Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains, and Arise (1987–1992)
In early 1987, Jairo Guedz quit the band. Guedz was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser, and they released their second studio album, Schizophrenia, later that year. The album reflected a stylistic change towards a more thrash metal-oriented sound, while still keeping the death metal elements of Morbid Visions. Schizophrenia was an improvement in production and performance, and became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America as a much sought-after import. The band sent tapes to the United States that made radio playlists at a time when they were struggling to book gigs, because club owners were afraid to book them due to their style. The band gained attention from Roadrunner Records who signed them and released Schizophrenia internationally before seeing the band perform in person.
During a May 2018 interview with teenyrockers.com, Kisser noted that Sepultura would not have been possible without family support, not only from his own family, but also from the families of Max and Igor, and Paulo Jr.
The band's third studio album, Beneath the Remains, was released in 1989. The album was recorded in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro while the band communicated through translators with the American producer Scott Burns. It was an immediate success and became known in thrash metal circles as a classic on the order of Slayer's Reign in Blood. It was hailed by Terrorizer magazine as one of the all-time top 20 thrash metal albums, as well as gaining a place in their all-time top 40 death metal records. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "The complete absence of filler here makes this one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time." A long European and American tour furthered the band's reputation, despite the fact that they were still very limited English speakers. Sepultura's first live dates outside of Brazil were opening for Sodom on their Agent Orange tour in Europe; following this was Sepultura's first US show, which was held on October 31, 1989 at the Ritz in New York City, opening for Danish heavy metal band King Diamond. The band filmed its first video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America. Touring in support of Beneath the Remains continued throughout much of 1990, including three shows in Brazil with Napalm Death, European dates with Mordred and a US tour with Obituary and Sadus.
In January 1991, Sepultura played for more than 100,000 people at the Rock in Rio II festival. The band relocated from their native Brazil to Phoenix, Arizona in 1990, obtained new management, and recorded the album Arise at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. By the time the album was released in March 1991, the band had become one of the most critically praised thrash/death metal bands of the time. The first single "Dead Embryonic Cells" was a success, and the title track gained additional attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery; it did, however, get some airplay on Headbangers Ball as did the music videos for "Dead Embryonic Cells" and "Desperate Cry". Arise was critically acclaimed and their first to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 119.
Sepultura toured relentlessly throughout 1991 and 1992 in support of Arise; its touring cycle began in May 1991 with a European trek with Sacred Reich and Heathen, followed by the New Titans on the Block tour in the US that included support from Sacred Reich, Napalm Death and Sick of It All. They also played with several other bands, including Slayer, Testament, Motörhead, Kreator, White Zombie, Type O Negative and Fudge Tunnel, and along with Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tears tour. Max Cavalera married the band's manager Gloria Bujnowski during this period. The Arise tour concluded in December 1992 with a US tour, where the band (along with Helmet) supported Ministry's Psalm 69 tour.
Chaos A.D., Nailbomb and Roots (1993–1996)
Sepultura's fifth album, Chaos A.D., was released in 1993. Supported by the singles "Refuse/Resist", "Territory" and "Slave New World", this was their only album to be released in North America by Epic Records, and the first of two albums by Sepultura to be certified gold there. It saw a departure from their death metal style, adding influences of groove metal, industrial and hardcore punk. While Chaos A.D. is not a death metal album, the album does include elements of thrash metal music. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that, "Chaos A.D. ranks as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time." The band did a year-long tour in support of Chaos A.D., starting with a headlining European run with Paradise Lost, followed by a US tour with Fudge Tunnel, Fear Factory and Clutch. They were also one of the support acts (along with Biohazard and Prong) for Pantera's Far Beyond Driven tour in North America, and then opened for the Ramones in South America and toured Australia and New Zealand with Sacred Reich. By the time the Chaos A.D. tour ended in November 1994, Sepultura was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the day.
Also in 1994, Max and Igor collaborated with Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel to form Nailbomb. They released an even more industrial-oriented album, Point Blank the same year. The group performed only one full live gig at Dynamo Open Air in 1995, and the performance was released as Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb was disbanded shortly afterwards.
Sepultura's sound change continued with their sixth album, Roots, which was released in 1996. On this album the band experimented with elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples, and adopted a slower, down-tuned sound. The album was hailed as a modern-day heavy metal classic and a major influence on the then-nascent nu metal scene. AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s." In 1996, Sepultura performed "War (Guerra)" for the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Departure of Max Cavalera, Derrick Green joins and Against (1996–2000)
In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock main stage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Fear Factory. The band was suddenly a three-piece with Andreas Kisser taking over on lead vocals, after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of the death of his stepson Dana Wells in a car accident. After Dana Wells' funeral was finished, Max returned and continued to tour with Sepultura. A few months after Wells' death, the band had a meeting with Max and said that they wanted to fire their manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was Max's wife and Dana's mother, and find new management. Their reasoning was that Bujnowski was giving preferential treatment to Max while neglecting the rest of the band. Max, who was still coming to terms with the death of Wells, felt betrayed by his bandmates for wanting to get rid of Bujnowski and abruptly quit the band. Max Cavalera's final performance with Sepultura was at Brixton Academy in England on December 16, 1996.
Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. In a retrospective review AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come".
Nation and Roorback (2001–2005)
The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gives the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records.
After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album — he has no problem going that extra mile — and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in São Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band.
Dante XXI, A-Lex, and departure of Igor Cavalera (2006–2010)
Sepultura's tenth album, Dante XXI, was released on March 14, 2006. It is a concept album based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Music videos were recorded for the songs "Convicted in Life" and "Ostia". AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Overall, Dante XXI is easily one of Sepultura's strongest releases to feature Green on vocals."
In a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom having recently reconciled after a decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup. There were also rumors that the reunited line up would play on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007. However, this was denied by Kisser and the reunion did not occur. Instead, Igor Cavalera left the band after the release of Dante XXI and was replaced by Brazilian drummer Jean Dolabella, leaving the band without any of its original members. After leaving Sepultura, Igor and Max formed Cavalera Conspiracy.
The band was one of the featured musical guests at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13. They performed a cover of "The Girl from Ipanema", and "We've Lost You" from the album A-Lex. The 9th annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and aired on Univision. Sepultura also appeared in a successful ad campaign for Volkswagen motors commercial that aired nationally throughout Brazil in 2008. The spot said that "it's the first time you've seen Sepultura like this. And a Sedan like this one too". The Volkswagen TV spot shows Sepultura playing bossa nova, the opposite of its heavy metal style, to say that "you never saw something like this, as you never saw a car like the new Voyage."
Sepultura released the album A-Lex on January 26, 2009. This was the first Sepultura album to include neither of the Cavalera brothers, with bassist Paulo Jr. as the sole remaining member from the band's debut album. A-Lex is a concept album based on the book A Clockwork Orange. The album was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, with producer Stanley Soares. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Personnel changes can have a very negative effect on a band, but Sepultura have maintained their vitality all these years – and that vitality is alive and well on the superb A-Lex." In the same year Andreas Kisser contributed his recipe for "Churrasco in Soy Sauce" to Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook, stating in the recipe that he prefers his meat "medium-rare". Sepultura supported Metallica on January 30 and 31, 2010, at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. The two concerts were attended by 100,000 people. The band filmed a concert DVD in 2010. Sepultura played at Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, on April 27, 2010. On August 8, 2010 visited the UK to play at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone.
Kairos and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2010–2015)
On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura were signed with Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. The band confirmed that there would be no reunion of the classic lineup. By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their 12th album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Andre Matos). On March 1, 2011, Sepultura had completed recording their new album, entitled Kairos, which was released in June 2011.
The album includes cover versions of Ministry's "Just One Fix" and The Prodigy's "Firestarter", both of which are available as bonus tracks on various special-edition releases. Sepultura played on the Kairos World Tour and at Wacken Open Air 2011. Drummer Jean Dolabella left the band and was replaced by 20-year-old Eloy Casagrande in November 2011, who had already played in Brazilian heavy metal singer Andre Matos' solo band and in the Brazilian post-hardcore band Gloria. In November and December 2011 Sepultura participated the Thrashfest Classics 2011 tour alongside thrash metal bands like Exodus, Destruction, Heathen, and Mortal Sin.
In May 2012, guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year". In an interview at England's Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group Les Tambours du Bronx. He also revealed that the band was "already thinking about new ideas" for their next album and would "have something new going on" in 2013.
On December 10, 2012, producer Ross Robinson, who produced Sepultura's Roots album, tweeted: "Oh, didn't mention.. Spoke to Andreas, it's on. My vision, smoke Roots" suggesting he would be producing the band's next album. This was later confirmed, as well as an announcement that the album would be co-produced by Steve Evetts. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo made a guest appearance on the album.
On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career." Relentless was published on October 8, 2014 in Poland under the title Brazylijska Furia, and the English language edition was published via Rocket 88 on December 4, 2014. The Brazilian edition, titled Relentless – 30 Anos de Sepultura, is scheduled for publication via Benvira in early 2015. The French language edition of "Relentless" was published in France on October 19, 2015.
On July 19, 2013, it was revealed that the title of the band's thirteenth album was The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. In September 2013, they performed at Rock in Rio with Brazilian rock/MPB artist Zé Ramalho – this line-up was named "Zépultura", a portmanteau of both artists' names.
Machine Messiah and Quadra (2016–present)
After spending more than two years of touring in support of The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, Sepultura entered the studio in mid-2016 to begin recording their fourteenth studio album, with Jens Bogren as the producer. The resulting album, Machine Messiah, was released on January 13, 2017. Sepultura promoted the album with a series of world tours, including supporting Kreator on their Gods of Violence tour in Europe in February–March 2017, and along with Prong, they supported Testament on the latter's Brotherhood of the Snake tour in the United States in April–May 2017. The band also toured Europe in February and March 2018 with Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit for an Autopsy, and Australia in May with Death Angel.
The first official Sepultura documentary, Sepultura Endurance, was premiered in May 2017 and released on June 17. Max and Igor declined to be interviewed for the film and also refused to allow early material of the band to be used.
In an August 2018 interview at Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album, and stated later that month that it was not expected to be released before 2020. The band began recording the album, again with producer Bogren, in August 2019 for a tentative February 2020 release.
In October 2019, during their performance at Rock in Rio 8, the band announced the name and revealed the cover for their fifteenth studio album, which would be named Quadra. They also played the lead single, named "Isolation", which is also the opening track for the album. On November 8, they released the studio version of "Isolation" and announced that Quadra would be released on February 7, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sepultura had not been able to tour or play any shows in support of Quadra for over two years after its release. They played their first show in two years at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro on February 12, 2022. The band will promote Quadra by touring the United States with Sacred Reich, Crowbar and Art of Shock, and Europe with the two-thirds of US leg (only Sacred Reich and Crowbar remaining); due to the COVID-19 situation, the tours had been rescheduled to two years from March and April 2020 and a year from the fall of 2021 respectively.
Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled SepulQuarta, which includes contributions by members of Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, System of a Down, Trivium and Sacred Reich.
Musical style, influences, and legacy
Sepultura's early influences were heavy metal and hard rock groups such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Venom, Celtic Frost, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake, as well as thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction and death metal bands Possessed and Death. They were also influenced by punk rock music, including bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Discharge, S.O.D., Amebix and New Model Army. Andreas Kisser has affirmed that "without Slayer, Sepultura would never be possible."
Sepultura's music comes in a wide range of heavy metal musical styles. The band has been described mainly as thrash metal and death metal, and considered one of the primary inventors of the latter genre. Another genre the band has been commonly categorized under is groove metal. The band later on started experimenting with elements of other musical genres such as hardcore punk, industrial metal, alternative metal, world music and nu metal.
Elements of Latin music, samba and Brazilian folk and tribal music have also been incorporated into Sepultura's metal style, particularly on Roots. Roots was partly recorded with the indigenous Xavante tribe in Mato Grosso, and incorporates percussion, rhythms, chanting and lyrical themes inspired by the collaboration.
Looking back on the band's career arc for a 2016 article on Max and Igor Cavalera's retrospective Return to Roots tour (in commemoration of the album's 20th anniversary), Nashville Scene contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni observed that "Before Chaos A.D., the overwhelming majority of metal had a 'white' feel to it. Sepultura changed that forever. And with Roots, the band went a step further, asserting once and for all that the genre can accommodate native stylings from any culture, much like jazz had done for decades prior."
MTV has called Sepultura the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history and "perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s." In 1993, Robert Baird of Phoenix New Times wrote that the band played "machine-gun-tempo mayhem" and that the members "love to attack organized religion and repressive government."
A number of bands have cited Sepultura as an influence, including Slipknot, Korn, Hatebreed, Alien Weaponry, Krisiun, Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Xibalba, Vein, Toxic Holocaust, Code Orange, Puya and Nails.
Band members
Current members
Paulo Jr. – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)
Andreas Kisser – lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–present), lead vocals (1996–1998)
Derrick Green – lead vocals (1998–present), additional rhythm guitar (1998–2005)
Eloy Casagrande – drums, percussion (2011–present)
Former members
Vocalists
Wagner Lamounier (1984–1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Rhythm guitarists
Cássio (1984)
Roberto UFO (1984)
Julio Cesar Vieira Franco (1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Lead guitarists
Max Cavalera (1984–1985)
Jairo Guedz (1985–1987)
Bassists
Roberto "Gato" Raffan (1984)
Drummers
Beto Pinga (1984)
Igor Cavalera (1984–2006)
Jean Dolabella (2006–2011)
Touring musicians
Silvio Golfetti – lead guitar (1991)
Guilherme Martin – drums (2005)
Roy Mayorga – drums (2006)
Amilcar Christófaro – drums (2011)
Kevin Foley – drums (2013)
Timeline
Discography
Morbid Visions (1986)
Schizophrenia (1987)
Beneath the Remains (1989)
Arise (1991)
Chaos A.D. (1993)
Roots (1996)
Against (1998)
Nation (2001)
Roorback (2003)
Dante XXI (2006)
A-Lex (2009)
Kairos (2011)
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2013)
Machine Messiah (2017)
Quadra (2020)
Notes
References
Bibliography
Anonymous (May 2003). Beneath the Remains. In: A Megaton Hit Parade: The All-Time Thrash Top 20. Terrorizer No. 109, page 35.
Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34.
Colmatti, Andréa (1997). Sepultura: Igor Cavalera. Modern Drummer Brasil, 6, 18–26, 28–30.
Hinchliffe, James (December 2006). Beneath the Remains. In: Death Metal|The DM Top 40. Terrorizer No. 151, page 54.
Lemos, Anamaria (1993). Caos Desencanado. Bizz, 98, 40–45.
Schwarz, Paul (2005). Morbid Visions. In: The First Wave. Terrorizer, 128, 42.
Sepultura (1996). Roots. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).
External links
Brazilian thrash metal musical groups
Brazilian death metal musical groups
Brazilian musical groups
Roadrunner Records artists
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups from Belo Horizonte
Alternative metal musical groups
Musical quartets
Groove metal musical groups
Brazilian heavy metal musical groups
Nuclear Blast artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
1984 establishments in Brazil | true | [
"Gorgon City are an English electronic music production duo consisting of two North London producers Kye \"Foamo\" Gibbon and Matt \"RackNRuin\" Robson-Scott. Their 2013 debut single \"Real\" peaked at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart. They are also well known for their 2014 single \"Ready for Your Love\", which reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. They are currently signed to the UK-based record label Positiva Records which is a division of Universal Music Group.\n\nMusic career\n\n2012–2013: Real EP\n\nThe duo's first collaboration The Crypt EP, featuring Navigator, Rubi Dan, and Janai, was released on 27 February 2012. One year later, on 17 February 2013, they collaborated with Yasmin for the lead track of the Real EP. The song peaked at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the UK Indie Chart.\n\n2013–2014: Sirens\n\nOn 12 May 2013, they released \"Intentions\", featuring Clean Bandit. On 26 January 2014, they released \"Ready for Your Love\" featuring MNEK. The song is their highest-charting song to date, entering the UK Singles Chart at number four. On 23 March 2014, they released \"There Is No Other Time\", a collaborative single with indie rock group Klaxons. On 26 May 2014, they released \"Here for You\", the third single from their debut studio album. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number seven. They produced Jess Glynne's single \"Right Here\", which was released on 6 July 2014. They remixed the song \"Back 2 the Wild\" by Basement Jaxx in August 2014 for the album Junto. The fourth single from their debut studio album, \"Unmissable\", premiered on MistaJam's 1Xtra show on 21 July 2014. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number nineteen. The album, Sirens was released on 6 October 2014 and peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. A compilation album alongside Pete Tong, entitled All Gone Pete Tong and Gorgon City Miami 2015, was released on 22 March 2015. The compilation features two exclusive tracks from Gorgon City: \"Sky High\" and \"The Terminal\".\n\n2015–present: Escape\nEscape is Gorgon City's second studio album, released on 10 August 2018. Revealed collaborations on the album were to be Vaults, Duke Dumont, Naations, Kamille, Ghosted, and D Double E.\n\nAt the beginning of 2015, shortly after releasing the last single from their debut studio album Sirens, \"Go All Night\" featuring vocals from Jennifer Hudson, they released a new single, which was called \"Saving My Life\", featuring vocals from musician ROMANS. This sparked much interest about the pair making more material for a second studio album.\n\nA year later, in April 2016, they released the official audio of the lead single \"All Four Walls\", featuring vocals from British band Vaults. After releasing the single, the pair confirmed that their second studio album is to be titled Escape. Afterwards, \"Impaired Vision\", featuring vocals from Tink and Mikky Ekko was released. In between releasing the singles, promotional singles were also released: \"Blue Parrot\", \"Doubts\", and \"Smoke\". \"Zoom Zoom\" was released, featuring vocals from Wyclef Jean.\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n\nExtended plays\n\nSingles\n\nPromotional singles\n\nProduction credits\n\nRemixes\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n A \"Intentions\" did not chart on the Ultratop's Belgian Flanders Single's Chart, but it did chart at number 88 on the Ultratip chart, the top-100 songs which haven't made the Ultratop 50.\n B \"Ready for Your Love\" did not chart on the Ultratop's Belgian Flanders Single's Chart, but it did chart at number 2 on the Ultratip chart, the top-100 songs which haven't made the Ultratop 50.\n C \"Here for You\" did not chart on the Ultratop's Belgian Flanders Single's Chart, but it did chart at number 69 on the Ultratip chart, the top-100 songs which haven't made the Ultratop 50.\n\nSources\n\nExternal links\n \n\n21st-century English musicians\nBlack Butter Records artists\nEnglish house music duos\nElectronic dance music duos\nMale musical duos\nUK garage duos\nMusical groups from London\nDJs from London\nPriority Records artists\nVirgin Records artists\n21st-century British male musicians\nRemixers",
"The discography of the American rock band Everclear consists of nine studio albums, six compilation albums, five extended plays, and twenty-four singles. Their first studio album, World of Noise, was released in 1993 and did not chart. Their second, 1995's Sparkle and Fade, peaked at number 25 in the United States and went platinum in both the US and Canada. Four singles were released from the album, including \"Santa Monica\", which reached number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.\n\nSo Much for the Afterglow was released in 1997 and became Everclear's best-selling album, going two times platinum in the US and Canada. The singles \"Everything to Everyone\" and \"I Will Buy You a New Life\" both peaked in the top three of the alternative rock charts in the US and Canada, as well.\n\nIn 2000, the band released two albums: Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile and Songs from an American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude. The former peaked in the top 10 in the US and Canada, and one of the singles from the album, \"Wonderful\", reached the top three of both the US and Canada alternative rock charts.\n\nEverclear's next studio album, Slow Motion Daydream, was released in 2003. A single from that album, \"Volvo Driving Soccer Mom\" was their last single that charted until \"The Man Who Broke His Own Heart\" in 2015. The band's first compilation album, Ten Years Gone: The Best of Everclear 1994–2004, was released in 2004.\n\nIn 2006, they released their seventh studio album, Welcome to the Drama Club, and their second compilation album, The Best of Everclear. Welcome to the Drama Club was their first studio album since World of Noise that did not reach the top 100 of the Billboard 200. Over the following six years, they released another studio album, Invisible Stars, and four compilation albums. Recently, it was announced that they were recording a new album at ThinkLoud Studios, by the name of Black Is the New Black, to be released in 2015.\n\nAlbums\n\nStudio albums\n\nCompilation albums\n\nEPs\n\nSingles\n\nNotes\n\nA \"Santa Monica\" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 29 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.\nB \"Everything to Everyone\" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 43 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.\nC \"I Will Buy You a New Life\" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 33 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.\nD \"Father of Mine\" originally did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 46 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, but the song later charted on the Billboard Hot 100 since the rules have changed after December 1998 bringing the song up to number 70 on that chart.\nE \"AM Radio\" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 1 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which acts as a 25-song extension to the Hot 100.\nF \"When It All Goes Wrong Again\" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 21 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which acts as a 25-song extension to the Hot 100.\n\nReferences\n\nDiscographies of American artists\nDiscography\nRock music group discographies"
]
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[
"Sepultura",
"Against, Nation and Roorback (1998-2005)",
"What was Against?",
"Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records.",
"When was it released?",
"\"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good.",
"Who was quoted saying that line?",
"AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, \"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's",
"Did they album chart?",
"The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly."
]
| C_e38bef0651564b979590115c22c6acb1_1 | When was that album released? | 5 | When was Roorback released? | Sepultura | Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come". The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album -- he has no problem going that extra mile -- and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in Sao Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band. CANNOTANSWER | released in 1998. | Sepultura (, "grave") is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
The band has had several lineup changes throughout its existence, with Max and Igor Cavalera departing in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Sepultura's current lineup consists of vocalist Derrick Green (who replaced Max in 1998), guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande (who replaced Igor's successor Jean Dolabella in 2011). Since Igor Cavalera's departure in 2006, there have been no original members left in the band. Although Paulo Jr. joined Sepultura shortly after its formation in late 1984 and is the longest serving member, he did not play on any of the band's studio albums until Chaos A.D. (1993). Kisser, who replaced onetime guitarist Jairo Guedz, has appeared on all of Sepultura's records since their second full-length Schizophrenia (1987); he also recorded bass guitar until Chaos A.D..
Sepultura has released fifteen studio albums to date, the latest being Quadra (2020). Their most successful records are Beneath the Remains (1989), Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over three million units in the United States and almost 20 million worldwide, gaining multiple gold and platinum records around the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus, and their native Brazil.
History
Formation, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions (1984–1986)
Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The band was founded by teen brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the impoverished sons of Vânia, a model, and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial ruin. Graciliano's death deeply affected his sons, inspiring them to form a band after Max heard the album Black Sabbath Vol. 4 the very same day. They chose the band name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for "grave", when Max translated the lyrics of the Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave".
The brothers' early influences included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, and metal and hard rock artists of the early 1980s, such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and V8. They would travel to a record shop in São Paulo that mixed tapes of the latest records by American bands. Their listening habits changed dramatically after being introduced to Venom. As Igor Cavalera put it:
The Cavalera brothers started listening to bands such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, and Exciter. They also had influences on Brazilian metal from bands like Stress, Sagrado Inferno, and Dorsal Atlântica. By 1984, they had dropped out of school. After several early membership changes, Sepultura established a stable lineup of Max on guitar, Igor on drums, vocalist Wagner Lamounier, and bassist Paulo Jr. Lamounier departed in March 1985 after disagreements with the band, and moved on to become the leader of the pioneering Brazilian black metal band Sarcófago. After his departure, Max took over the vocal duties. Jairo Guedes was invited to join the band as lead guitarist.
After about a year of performing, Sepultura signed to Cogumelo Records in 1985. Later that year, they released Bestial Devastation, a shared EP with fellow Brazilian band Overdose. It was recorded and self-produced in just two days. The band recorded their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, in August 1986. It contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom", which gained some media attention. The band then decided to relocate to the larger city of São Paulo.
Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains, and Arise (1987–1992)
In early 1987, Jairo Guedz quit the band. Guedz was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser, and they released their second studio album, Schizophrenia, later that year. The album reflected a stylistic change towards a more thrash metal-oriented sound, while still keeping the death metal elements of Morbid Visions. Schizophrenia was an improvement in production and performance, and became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America as a much sought-after import. The band sent tapes to the United States that made radio playlists at a time when they were struggling to book gigs, because club owners were afraid to book them due to their style. The band gained attention from Roadrunner Records who signed them and released Schizophrenia internationally before seeing the band perform in person.
During a May 2018 interview with teenyrockers.com, Kisser noted that Sepultura would not have been possible without family support, not only from his own family, but also from the families of Max and Igor, and Paulo Jr.
The band's third studio album, Beneath the Remains, was released in 1989. The album was recorded in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro while the band communicated through translators with the American producer Scott Burns. It was an immediate success and became known in thrash metal circles as a classic on the order of Slayer's Reign in Blood. It was hailed by Terrorizer magazine as one of the all-time top 20 thrash metal albums, as well as gaining a place in their all-time top 40 death metal records. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "The complete absence of filler here makes this one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time." A long European and American tour furthered the band's reputation, despite the fact that they were still very limited English speakers. Sepultura's first live dates outside of Brazil were opening for Sodom on their Agent Orange tour in Europe; following this was Sepultura's first US show, which was held on October 31, 1989 at the Ritz in New York City, opening for Danish heavy metal band King Diamond. The band filmed its first video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America. Touring in support of Beneath the Remains continued throughout much of 1990, including three shows in Brazil with Napalm Death, European dates with Mordred and a US tour with Obituary and Sadus.
In January 1991, Sepultura played for more than 100,000 people at the Rock in Rio II festival. The band relocated from their native Brazil to Phoenix, Arizona in 1990, obtained new management, and recorded the album Arise at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. By the time the album was released in March 1991, the band had become one of the most critically praised thrash/death metal bands of the time. The first single "Dead Embryonic Cells" was a success, and the title track gained additional attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery; it did, however, get some airplay on Headbangers Ball as did the music videos for "Dead Embryonic Cells" and "Desperate Cry". Arise was critically acclaimed and their first to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 119.
Sepultura toured relentlessly throughout 1991 and 1992 in support of Arise; its touring cycle began in May 1991 with a European trek with Sacred Reich and Heathen, followed by the New Titans on the Block tour in the US that included support from Sacred Reich, Napalm Death and Sick of It All. They also played with several other bands, including Slayer, Testament, Motörhead, Kreator, White Zombie, Type O Negative and Fudge Tunnel, and along with Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tears tour. Max Cavalera married the band's manager Gloria Bujnowski during this period. The Arise tour concluded in December 1992 with a US tour, where the band (along with Helmet) supported Ministry's Psalm 69 tour.
Chaos A.D., Nailbomb and Roots (1993–1996)
Sepultura's fifth album, Chaos A.D., was released in 1993. Supported by the singles "Refuse/Resist", "Territory" and "Slave New World", this was their only album to be released in North America by Epic Records, and the first of two albums by Sepultura to be certified gold there. It saw a departure from their death metal style, adding influences of groove metal, industrial and hardcore punk. While Chaos A.D. is not a death metal album, the album does include elements of thrash metal music. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that, "Chaos A.D. ranks as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time." The band did a year-long tour in support of Chaos A.D., starting with a headlining European run with Paradise Lost, followed by a US tour with Fudge Tunnel, Fear Factory and Clutch. They were also one of the support acts (along with Biohazard and Prong) for Pantera's Far Beyond Driven tour in North America, and then opened for the Ramones in South America and toured Australia and New Zealand with Sacred Reich. By the time the Chaos A.D. tour ended in November 1994, Sepultura was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the day.
Also in 1994, Max and Igor collaborated with Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel to form Nailbomb. They released an even more industrial-oriented album, Point Blank the same year. The group performed only one full live gig at Dynamo Open Air in 1995, and the performance was released as Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb was disbanded shortly afterwards.
Sepultura's sound change continued with their sixth album, Roots, which was released in 1996. On this album the band experimented with elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples, and adopted a slower, down-tuned sound. The album was hailed as a modern-day heavy metal classic and a major influence on the then-nascent nu metal scene. AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s." In 1996, Sepultura performed "War (Guerra)" for the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Departure of Max Cavalera, Derrick Green joins and Against (1996–2000)
In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock main stage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Fear Factory. The band was suddenly a three-piece with Andreas Kisser taking over on lead vocals, after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of the death of his stepson Dana Wells in a car accident. After Dana Wells' funeral was finished, Max returned and continued to tour with Sepultura. A few months after Wells' death, the band had a meeting with Max and said that they wanted to fire their manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was Max's wife and Dana's mother, and find new management. Their reasoning was that Bujnowski was giving preferential treatment to Max while neglecting the rest of the band. Max, who was still coming to terms with the death of Wells, felt betrayed by his bandmates for wanting to get rid of Bujnowski and abruptly quit the band. Max Cavalera's final performance with Sepultura was at Brixton Academy in England on December 16, 1996.
Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. In a retrospective review AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come".
Nation and Roorback (2001–2005)
The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gives the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records.
After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album — he has no problem going that extra mile — and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in São Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band.
Dante XXI, A-Lex, and departure of Igor Cavalera (2006–2010)
Sepultura's tenth album, Dante XXI, was released on March 14, 2006. It is a concept album based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Music videos were recorded for the songs "Convicted in Life" and "Ostia". AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Overall, Dante XXI is easily one of Sepultura's strongest releases to feature Green on vocals."
In a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom having recently reconciled after a decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup. There were also rumors that the reunited line up would play on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007. However, this was denied by Kisser and the reunion did not occur. Instead, Igor Cavalera left the band after the release of Dante XXI and was replaced by Brazilian drummer Jean Dolabella, leaving the band without any of its original members. After leaving Sepultura, Igor and Max formed Cavalera Conspiracy.
The band was one of the featured musical guests at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13. They performed a cover of "The Girl from Ipanema", and "We've Lost You" from the album A-Lex. The 9th annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and aired on Univision. Sepultura also appeared in a successful ad campaign for Volkswagen motors commercial that aired nationally throughout Brazil in 2008. The spot said that "it's the first time you've seen Sepultura like this. And a Sedan like this one too". The Volkswagen TV spot shows Sepultura playing bossa nova, the opposite of its heavy metal style, to say that "you never saw something like this, as you never saw a car like the new Voyage."
Sepultura released the album A-Lex on January 26, 2009. This was the first Sepultura album to include neither of the Cavalera brothers, with bassist Paulo Jr. as the sole remaining member from the band's debut album. A-Lex is a concept album based on the book A Clockwork Orange. The album was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, with producer Stanley Soares. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Personnel changes can have a very negative effect on a band, but Sepultura have maintained their vitality all these years – and that vitality is alive and well on the superb A-Lex." In the same year Andreas Kisser contributed his recipe for "Churrasco in Soy Sauce" to Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook, stating in the recipe that he prefers his meat "medium-rare". Sepultura supported Metallica on January 30 and 31, 2010, at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. The two concerts were attended by 100,000 people. The band filmed a concert DVD in 2010. Sepultura played at Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, on April 27, 2010. On August 8, 2010 visited the UK to play at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone.
Kairos and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2010–2015)
On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura were signed with Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. The band confirmed that there would be no reunion of the classic lineup. By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their 12th album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Andre Matos). On March 1, 2011, Sepultura had completed recording their new album, entitled Kairos, which was released in June 2011.
The album includes cover versions of Ministry's "Just One Fix" and The Prodigy's "Firestarter", both of which are available as bonus tracks on various special-edition releases. Sepultura played on the Kairos World Tour and at Wacken Open Air 2011. Drummer Jean Dolabella left the band and was replaced by 20-year-old Eloy Casagrande in November 2011, who had already played in Brazilian heavy metal singer Andre Matos' solo band and in the Brazilian post-hardcore band Gloria. In November and December 2011 Sepultura participated the Thrashfest Classics 2011 tour alongside thrash metal bands like Exodus, Destruction, Heathen, and Mortal Sin.
In May 2012, guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year". In an interview at England's Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group Les Tambours du Bronx. He also revealed that the band was "already thinking about new ideas" for their next album and would "have something new going on" in 2013.
On December 10, 2012, producer Ross Robinson, who produced Sepultura's Roots album, tweeted: "Oh, didn't mention.. Spoke to Andreas, it's on. My vision, smoke Roots" suggesting he would be producing the band's next album. This was later confirmed, as well as an announcement that the album would be co-produced by Steve Evetts. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo made a guest appearance on the album.
On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career." Relentless was published on October 8, 2014 in Poland under the title Brazylijska Furia, and the English language edition was published via Rocket 88 on December 4, 2014. The Brazilian edition, titled Relentless – 30 Anos de Sepultura, is scheduled for publication via Benvira in early 2015. The French language edition of "Relentless" was published in France on October 19, 2015.
On July 19, 2013, it was revealed that the title of the band's thirteenth album was The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. In September 2013, they performed at Rock in Rio with Brazilian rock/MPB artist Zé Ramalho – this line-up was named "Zépultura", a portmanteau of both artists' names.
Machine Messiah and Quadra (2016–present)
After spending more than two years of touring in support of The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, Sepultura entered the studio in mid-2016 to begin recording their fourteenth studio album, with Jens Bogren as the producer. The resulting album, Machine Messiah, was released on January 13, 2017. Sepultura promoted the album with a series of world tours, including supporting Kreator on their Gods of Violence tour in Europe in February–March 2017, and along with Prong, they supported Testament on the latter's Brotherhood of the Snake tour in the United States in April–May 2017. The band also toured Europe in February and March 2018 with Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit for an Autopsy, and Australia in May with Death Angel.
The first official Sepultura documentary, Sepultura Endurance, was premiered in May 2017 and released on June 17. Max and Igor declined to be interviewed for the film and also refused to allow early material of the band to be used.
In an August 2018 interview at Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album, and stated later that month that it was not expected to be released before 2020. The band began recording the album, again with producer Bogren, in August 2019 for a tentative February 2020 release.
In October 2019, during their performance at Rock in Rio 8, the band announced the name and revealed the cover for their fifteenth studio album, which would be named Quadra. They also played the lead single, named "Isolation", which is also the opening track for the album. On November 8, they released the studio version of "Isolation" and announced that Quadra would be released on February 7, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sepultura had not been able to tour or play any shows in support of Quadra for over two years after its release. They played their first show in two years at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro on February 12, 2022. The band will promote Quadra by touring the United States with Sacred Reich, Crowbar and Art of Shock, and Europe with the two-thirds of US leg (only Sacred Reich and Crowbar remaining); due to the COVID-19 situation, the tours had been rescheduled to two years from March and April 2020 and a year from the fall of 2021 respectively.
Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled SepulQuarta, which includes contributions by members of Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, System of a Down, Trivium and Sacred Reich.
Musical style, influences, and legacy
Sepultura's early influences were heavy metal and hard rock groups such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Venom, Celtic Frost, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake, as well as thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction and death metal bands Possessed and Death. They were also influenced by punk rock music, including bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Discharge, S.O.D., Amebix and New Model Army. Andreas Kisser has affirmed that "without Slayer, Sepultura would never be possible."
Sepultura's music comes in a wide range of heavy metal musical styles. The band has been described mainly as thrash metal and death metal, and considered one of the primary inventors of the latter genre. Another genre the band has been commonly categorized under is groove metal. The band later on started experimenting with elements of other musical genres such as hardcore punk, industrial metal, alternative metal, world music and nu metal.
Elements of Latin music, samba and Brazilian folk and tribal music have also been incorporated into Sepultura's metal style, particularly on Roots. Roots was partly recorded with the indigenous Xavante tribe in Mato Grosso, and incorporates percussion, rhythms, chanting and lyrical themes inspired by the collaboration.
Looking back on the band's career arc for a 2016 article on Max and Igor Cavalera's retrospective Return to Roots tour (in commemoration of the album's 20th anniversary), Nashville Scene contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni observed that "Before Chaos A.D., the overwhelming majority of metal had a 'white' feel to it. Sepultura changed that forever. And with Roots, the band went a step further, asserting once and for all that the genre can accommodate native stylings from any culture, much like jazz had done for decades prior."
MTV has called Sepultura the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history and "perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s." In 1993, Robert Baird of Phoenix New Times wrote that the band played "machine-gun-tempo mayhem" and that the members "love to attack organized religion and repressive government."
A number of bands have cited Sepultura as an influence, including Slipknot, Korn, Hatebreed, Alien Weaponry, Krisiun, Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Xibalba, Vein, Toxic Holocaust, Code Orange, Puya and Nails.
Band members
Current members
Paulo Jr. – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)
Andreas Kisser – lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–present), lead vocals (1996–1998)
Derrick Green – lead vocals (1998–present), additional rhythm guitar (1998–2005)
Eloy Casagrande – drums, percussion (2011–present)
Former members
Vocalists
Wagner Lamounier (1984–1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Rhythm guitarists
Cássio (1984)
Roberto UFO (1984)
Julio Cesar Vieira Franco (1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Lead guitarists
Max Cavalera (1984–1985)
Jairo Guedz (1985–1987)
Bassists
Roberto "Gato" Raffan (1984)
Drummers
Beto Pinga (1984)
Igor Cavalera (1984–2006)
Jean Dolabella (2006–2011)
Touring musicians
Silvio Golfetti – lead guitar (1991)
Guilherme Martin – drums (2005)
Roy Mayorga – drums (2006)
Amilcar Christófaro – drums (2011)
Kevin Foley – drums (2013)
Timeline
Discography
Morbid Visions (1986)
Schizophrenia (1987)
Beneath the Remains (1989)
Arise (1991)
Chaos A.D. (1993)
Roots (1996)
Against (1998)
Nation (2001)
Roorback (2003)
Dante XXI (2006)
A-Lex (2009)
Kairos (2011)
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2013)
Machine Messiah (2017)
Quadra (2020)
Notes
References
Bibliography
Anonymous (May 2003). Beneath the Remains. In: A Megaton Hit Parade: The All-Time Thrash Top 20. Terrorizer No. 109, page 35.
Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34.
Colmatti, Andréa (1997). Sepultura: Igor Cavalera. Modern Drummer Brasil, 6, 18–26, 28–30.
Hinchliffe, James (December 2006). Beneath the Remains. In: Death Metal|The DM Top 40. Terrorizer No. 151, page 54.
Lemos, Anamaria (1993). Caos Desencanado. Bizz, 98, 40–45.
Schwarz, Paul (2005). Morbid Visions. In: The First Wave. Terrorizer, 128, 42.
Sepultura (1996). Roots. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).
External links
Brazilian thrash metal musical groups
Brazilian death metal musical groups
Brazilian musical groups
Roadrunner Records artists
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups from Belo Horizonte
Alternative metal musical groups
Musical quartets
Groove metal musical groups
Brazilian heavy metal musical groups
Nuclear Blast artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
1984 establishments in Brazil | true | [
"When the Bough Breaks is the second solo album from Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. It was originally released on April 27, 1997, on Cleopatra Records.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Hate\" – 5:00\n\"Children Killing Children\" – 3:51\n\"Growth\" – 5:45\n\"When I was a Child\" – 4:54\n\"Please Help Mommy (She's a Junkie)\" – 6:40\n\"Shine\" – 5:06\n\"Step Lightly (On the Grass)\" – 5:59\n\"Love & Innocence\" – 1:00\n\"Animals\" – 6:32\n\"Nighthawks Stars & Pines\" – 6:45\n\"Try Life\" – 5:35\n\"When the Bough Breaks\" – 9:45\n\nCD Cleopatra CL9981 (US 1997)\n\nMusicians\n\nBill Ward - vocals, lyrics, musical arrangements\nKeith Lynch - guitars\nPaul Ill - bass, double bass, synthesizer, tape loops\nRonnie Ciago - drums\n\nCover art and reprint issues\n\nAs originally released, this album featured cover art that had two roses on it. After it was released, Bill Ward (as with Ward One, his first solo album) stated on his website that the released cover art was not the correct one that was intended to be released. Additionally, the liner notes for the original printing had lyrics that were so small, most people needed a magnifying glass to read them. This was eventually corrected in 2000 when the version of the album with Bill on the cover from the 70's was released. The album was later on released in a special digipak style of case, but this was later said to be released prematurely, and was withdrawn.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nWhen the Bough Breaks at Bill Ward's site\nWhen the Bough Breaks at Black Sabbath Online\n\nBill Ward (musician) albums\nBlack Sabbath\n1997 albums\nCleopatra Records albums",
"Push Rewind is the debut solo album by American pop singer Chris Wallace. It was released digitally on September 4, 2012.\n\nThe album was taken off of iTunes in late 2013 and was re-released on March 4, 2014.\n\nBackground\nAfter Chris' previous band, The White Tie Affair broke up, Chris began working on a solo album.\n\nOn August 23, 2012, Chris tweeted that his first solo album, Push Rewind, would be available on iTunes on September 4. On September 4, 2012, his debut solo album was released via ThinkSay Records.\n\nRelease and promotion\n\nSingles\n\"Remember When (Push Rewind)\" was released as the lead single off of the album on June 12, 2012. The song was available for free for the week of September 4, 2012 as iTunes' Single of the Week to help promote the album. The song has so far reached number 2 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100.\n\n\"Keep Me Crazy\" was announced as the second single from the album. It was originally released to mainstream pop radio on April 22, 2013 but it was re-released on July 30, 2013.\n\nTrack listing\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2012 debut albums"
]
|
[
"Sepultura",
"Against, Nation and Roorback (1998-2005)",
"What was Against?",
"Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records.",
"When was it released?",
"\"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good.",
"Who was quoted saying that line?",
"AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, \"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's",
"Did they album chart?",
"The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly.",
"When was that album released?",
"released in 1998."
]
| C_e38bef0651564b979590115c22c6acb1_1 | What was the title of the album? | 6 | What was the title of the album released after Roorback? | Sepultura | Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come". The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album -- he has no problem going that extra mile -- and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in Sao Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band. CANNOTANSWER | The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, | Sepultura (, "grave") is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
The band has had several lineup changes throughout its existence, with Max and Igor Cavalera departing in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Sepultura's current lineup consists of vocalist Derrick Green (who replaced Max in 1998), guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande (who replaced Igor's successor Jean Dolabella in 2011). Since Igor Cavalera's departure in 2006, there have been no original members left in the band. Although Paulo Jr. joined Sepultura shortly after its formation in late 1984 and is the longest serving member, he did not play on any of the band's studio albums until Chaos A.D. (1993). Kisser, who replaced onetime guitarist Jairo Guedz, has appeared on all of Sepultura's records since their second full-length Schizophrenia (1987); he also recorded bass guitar until Chaos A.D..
Sepultura has released fifteen studio albums to date, the latest being Quadra (2020). Their most successful records are Beneath the Remains (1989), Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over three million units in the United States and almost 20 million worldwide, gaining multiple gold and platinum records around the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus, and their native Brazil.
History
Formation, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions (1984–1986)
Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The band was founded by teen brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the impoverished sons of Vânia, a model, and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial ruin. Graciliano's death deeply affected his sons, inspiring them to form a band after Max heard the album Black Sabbath Vol. 4 the very same day. They chose the band name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for "grave", when Max translated the lyrics of the Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave".
The brothers' early influences included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, and metal and hard rock artists of the early 1980s, such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and V8. They would travel to a record shop in São Paulo that mixed tapes of the latest records by American bands. Their listening habits changed dramatically after being introduced to Venom. As Igor Cavalera put it:
The Cavalera brothers started listening to bands such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, and Exciter. They also had influences on Brazilian metal from bands like Stress, Sagrado Inferno, and Dorsal Atlântica. By 1984, they had dropped out of school. After several early membership changes, Sepultura established a stable lineup of Max on guitar, Igor on drums, vocalist Wagner Lamounier, and bassist Paulo Jr. Lamounier departed in March 1985 after disagreements with the band, and moved on to become the leader of the pioneering Brazilian black metal band Sarcófago. After his departure, Max took over the vocal duties. Jairo Guedes was invited to join the band as lead guitarist.
After about a year of performing, Sepultura signed to Cogumelo Records in 1985. Later that year, they released Bestial Devastation, a shared EP with fellow Brazilian band Overdose. It was recorded and self-produced in just two days. The band recorded their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, in August 1986. It contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom", which gained some media attention. The band then decided to relocate to the larger city of São Paulo.
Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains, and Arise (1987–1992)
In early 1987, Jairo Guedz quit the band. Guedz was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser, and they released their second studio album, Schizophrenia, later that year. The album reflected a stylistic change towards a more thrash metal-oriented sound, while still keeping the death metal elements of Morbid Visions. Schizophrenia was an improvement in production and performance, and became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America as a much sought-after import. The band sent tapes to the United States that made radio playlists at a time when they were struggling to book gigs, because club owners were afraid to book them due to their style. The band gained attention from Roadrunner Records who signed them and released Schizophrenia internationally before seeing the band perform in person.
During a May 2018 interview with teenyrockers.com, Kisser noted that Sepultura would not have been possible without family support, not only from his own family, but also from the families of Max and Igor, and Paulo Jr.
The band's third studio album, Beneath the Remains, was released in 1989. The album was recorded in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro while the band communicated through translators with the American producer Scott Burns. It was an immediate success and became known in thrash metal circles as a classic on the order of Slayer's Reign in Blood. It was hailed by Terrorizer magazine as one of the all-time top 20 thrash metal albums, as well as gaining a place in their all-time top 40 death metal records. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "The complete absence of filler here makes this one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time." A long European and American tour furthered the band's reputation, despite the fact that they were still very limited English speakers. Sepultura's first live dates outside of Brazil were opening for Sodom on their Agent Orange tour in Europe; following this was Sepultura's first US show, which was held on October 31, 1989 at the Ritz in New York City, opening for Danish heavy metal band King Diamond. The band filmed its first video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America. Touring in support of Beneath the Remains continued throughout much of 1990, including three shows in Brazil with Napalm Death, European dates with Mordred and a US tour with Obituary and Sadus.
In January 1991, Sepultura played for more than 100,000 people at the Rock in Rio II festival. The band relocated from their native Brazil to Phoenix, Arizona in 1990, obtained new management, and recorded the album Arise at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. By the time the album was released in March 1991, the band had become one of the most critically praised thrash/death metal bands of the time. The first single "Dead Embryonic Cells" was a success, and the title track gained additional attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery; it did, however, get some airplay on Headbangers Ball as did the music videos for "Dead Embryonic Cells" and "Desperate Cry". Arise was critically acclaimed and their first to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 119.
Sepultura toured relentlessly throughout 1991 and 1992 in support of Arise; its touring cycle began in May 1991 with a European trek with Sacred Reich and Heathen, followed by the New Titans on the Block tour in the US that included support from Sacred Reich, Napalm Death and Sick of It All. They also played with several other bands, including Slayer, Testament, Motörhead, Kreator, White Zombie, Type O Negative and Fudge Tunnel, and along with Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tears tour. Max Cavalera married the band's manager Gloria Bujnowski during this period. The Arise tour concluded in December 1992 with a US tour, where the band (along with Helmet) supported Ministry's Psalm 69 tour.
Chaos A.D., Nailbomb and Roots (1993–1996)
Sepultura's fifth album, Chaos A.D., was released in 1993. Supported by the singles "Refuse/Resist", "Territory" and "Slave New World", this was their only album to be released in North America by Epic Records, and the first of two albums by Sepultura to be certified gold there. It saw a departure from their death metal style, adding influences of groove metal, industrial and hardcore punk. While Chaos A.D. is not a death metal album, the album does include elements of thrash metal music. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that, "Chaos A.D. ranks as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time." The band did a year-long tour in support of Chaos A.D., starting with a headlining European run with Paradise Lost, followed by a US tour with Fudge Tunnel, Fear Factory and Clutch. They were also one of the support acts (along with Biohazard and Prong) for Pantera's Far Beyond Driven tour in North America, and then opened for the Ramones in South America and toured Australia and New Zealand with Sacred Reich. By the time the Chaos A.D. tour ended in November 1994, Sepultura was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the day.
Also in 1994, Max and Igor collaborated with Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel to form Nailbomb. They released an even more industrial-oriented album, Point Blank the same year. The group performed only one full live gig at Dynamo Open Air in 1995, and the performance was released as Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb was disbanded shortly afterwards.
Sepultura's sound change continued with their sixth album, Roots, which was released in 1996. On this album the band experimented with elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples, and adopted a slower, down-tuned sound. The album was hailed as a modern-day heavy metal classic and a major influence on the then-nascent nu metal scene. AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s." In 1996, Sepultura performed "War (Guerra)" for the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Departure of Max Cavalera, Derrick Green joins and Against (1996–2000)
In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock main stage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Fear Factory. The band was suddenly a three-piece with Andreas Kisser taking over on lead vocals, after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of the death of his stepson Dana Wells in a car accident. After Dana Wells' funeral was finished, Max returned and continued to tour with Sepultura. A few months after Wells' death, the band had a meeting with Max and said that they wanted to fire their manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was Max's wife and Dana's mother, and find new management. Their reasoning was that Bujnowski was giving preferential treatment to Max while neglecting the rest of the band. Max, who was still coming to terms with the death of Wells, felt betrayed by his bandmates for wanting to get rid of Bujnowski and abruptly quit the band. Max Cavalera's final performance with Sepultura was at Brixton Academy in England on December 16, 1996.
Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. In a retrospective review AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come".
Nation and Roorback (2001–2005)
The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gives the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records.
After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album — he has no problem going that extra mile — and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in São Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band.
Dante XXI, A-Lex, and departure of Igor Cavalera (2006–2010)
Sepultura's tenth album, Dante XXI, was released on March 14, 2006. It is a concept album based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Music videos were recorded for the songs "Convicted in Life" and "Ostia". AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Overall, Dante XXI is easily one of Sepultura's strongest releases to feature Green on vocals."
In a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom having recently reconciled after a decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup. There were also rumors that the reunited line up would play on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007. However, this was denied by Kisser and the reunion did not occur. Instead, Igor Cavalera left the band after the release of Dante XXI and was replaced by Brazilian drummer Jean Dolabella, leaving the band without any of its original members. After leaving Sepultura, Igor and Max formed Cavalera Conspiracy.
The band was one of the featured musical guests at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13. They performed a cover of "The Girl from Ipanema", and "We've Lost You" from the album A-Lex. The 9th annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and aired on Univision. Sepultura also appeared in a successful ad campaign for Volkswagen motors commercial that aired nationally throughout Brazil in 2008. The spot said that "it's the first time you've seen Sepultura like this. And a Sedan like this one too". The Volkswagen TV spot shows Sepultura playing bossa nova, the opposite of its heavy metal style, to say that "you never saw something like this, as you never saw a car like the new Voyage."
Sepultura released the album A-Lex on January 26, 2009. This was the first Sepultura album to include neither of the Cavalera brothers, with bassist Paulo Jr. as the sole remaining member from the band's debut album. A-Lex is a concept album based on the book A Clockwork Orange. The album was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, with producer Stanley Soares. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Personnel changes can have a very negative effect on a band, but Sepultura have maintained their vitality all these years – and that vitality is alive and well on the superb A-Lex." In the same year Andreas Kisser contributed his recipe for "Churrasco in Soy Sauce" to Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook, stating in the recipe that he prefers his meat "medium-rare". Sepultura supported Metallica on January 30 and 31, 2010, at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. The two concerts were attended by 100,000 people. The band filmed a concert DVD in 2010. Sepultura played at Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, on April 27, 2010. On August 8, 2010 visited the UK to play at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone.
Kairos and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2010–2015)
On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura were signed with Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. The band confirmed that there would be no reunion of the classic lineup. By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their 12th album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Andre Matos). On March 1, 2011, Sepultura had completed recording their new album, entitled Kairos, which was released in June 2011.
The album includes cover versions of Ministry's "Just One Fix" and The Prodigy's "Firestarter", both of which are available as bonus tracks on various special-edition releases. Sepultura played on the Kairos World Tour and at Wacken Open Air 2011. Drummer Jean Dolabella left the band and was replaced by 20-year-old Eloy Casagrande in November 2011, who had already played in Brazilian heavy metal singer Andre Matos' solo band and in the Brazilian post-hardcore band Gloria. In November and December 2011 Sepultura participated the Thrashfest Classics 2011 tour alongside thrash metal bands like Exodus, Destruction, Heathen, and Mortal Sin.
In May 2012, guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year". In an interview at England's Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group Les Tambours du Bronx. He also revealed that the band was "already thinking about new ideas" for their next album and would "have something new going on" in 2013.
On December 10, 2012, producer Ross Robinson, who produced Sepultura's Roots album, tweeted: "Oh, didn't mention.. Spoke to Andreas, it's on. My vision, smoke Roots" suggesting he would be producing the band's next album. This was later confirmed, as well as an announcement that the album would be co-produced by Steve Evetts. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo made a guest appearance on the album.
On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career." Relentless was published on October 8, 2014 in Poland under the title Brazylijska Furia, and the English language edition was published via Rocket 88 on December 4, 2014. The Brazilian edition, titled Relentless – 30 Anos de Sepultura, is scheduled for publication via Benvira in early 2015. The French language edition of "Relentless" was published in France on October 19, 2015.
On July 19, 2013, it was revealed that the title of the band's thirteenth album was The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. In September 2013, they performed at Rock in Rio with Brazilian rock/MPB artist Zé Ramalho – this line-up was named "Zépultura", a portmanteau of both artists' names.
Machine Messiah and Quadra (2016–present)
After spending more than two years of touring in support of The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, Sepultura entered the studio in mid-2016 to begin recording their fourteenth studio album, with Jens Bogren as the producer. The resulting album, Machine Messiah, was released on January 13, 2017. Sepultura promoted the album with a series of world tours, including supporting Kreator on their Gods of Violence tour in Europe in February–March 2017, and along with Prong, they supported Testament on the latter's Brotherhood of the Snake tour in the United States in April–May 2017. The band also toured Europe in February and March 2018 with Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit for an Autopsy, and Australia in May with Death Angel.
The first official Sepultura documentary, Sepultura Endurance, was premiered in May 2017 and released on June 17. Max and Igor declined to be interviewed for the film and also refused to allow early material of the band to be used.
In an August 2018 interview at Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album, and stated later that month that it was not expected to be released before 2020. The band began recording the album, again with producer Bogren, in August 2019 for a tentative February 2020 release.
In October 2019, during their performance at Rock in Rio 8, the band announced the name and revealed the cover for their fifteenth studio album, which would be named Quadra. They also played the lead single, named "Isolation", which is also the opening track for the album. On November 8, they released the studio version of "Isolation" and announced that Quadra would be released on February 7, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sepultura had not been able to tour or play any shows in support of Quadra for over two years after its release. They played their first show in two years at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro on February 12, 2022. The band will promote Quadra by touring the United States with Sacred Reich, Crowbar and Art of Shock, and Europe with the two-thirds of US leg (only Sacred Reich and Crowbar remaining); due to the COVID-19 situation, the tours had been rescheduled to two years from March and April 2020 and a year from the fall of 2021 respectively.
Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled SepulQuarta, which includes contributions by members of Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, System of a Down, Trivium and Sacred Reich.
Musical style, influences, and legacy
Sepultura's early influences were heavy metal and hard rock groups such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Venom, Celtic Frost, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake, as well as thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction and death metal bands Possessed and Death. They were also influenced by punk rock music, including bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Discharge, S.O.D., Amebix and New Model Army. Andreas Kisser has affirmed that "without Slayer, Sepultura would never be possible."
Sepultura's music comes in a wide range of heavy metal musical styles. The band has been described mainly as thrash metal and death metal, and considered one of the primary inventors of the latter genre. Another genre the band has been commonly categorized under is groove metal. The band later on started experimenting with elements of other musical genres such as hardcore punk, industrial metal, alternative metal, world music and nu metal.
Elements of Latin music, samba and Brazilian folk and tribal music have also been incorporated into Sepultura's metal style, particularly on Roots. Roots was partly recorded with the indigenous Xavante tribe in Mato Grosso, and incorporates percussion, rhythms, chanting and lyrical themes inspired by the collaboration.
Looking back on the band's career arc for a 2016 article on Max and Igor Cavalera's retrospective Return to Roots tour (in commemoration of the album's 20th anniversary), Nashville Scene contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni observed that "Before Chaos A.D., the overwhelming majority of metal had a 'white' feel to it. Sepultura changed that forever. And with Roots, the band went a step further, asserting once and for all that the genre can accommodate native stylings from any culture, much like jazz had done for decades prior."
MTV has called Sepultura the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history and "perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s." In 1993, Robert Baird of Phoenix New Times wrote that the band played "machine-gun-tempo mayhem" and that the members "love to attack organized religion and repressive government."
A number of bands have cited Sepultura as an influence, including Slipknot, Korn, Hatebreed, Alien Weaponry, Krisiun, Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Xibalba, Vein, Toxic Holocaust, Code Orange, Puya and Nails.
Band members
Current members
Paulo Jr. – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)
Andreas Kisser – lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–present), lead vocals (1996–1998)
Derrick Green – lead vocals (1998–present), additional rhythm guitar (1998–2005)
Eloy Casagrande – drums, percussion (2011–present)
Former members
Vocalists
Wagner Lamounier (1984–1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Rhythm guitarists
Cássio (1984)
Roberto UFO (1984)
Julio Cesar Vieira Franco (1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Lead guitarists
Max Cavalera (1984–1985)
Jairo Guedz (1985–1987)
Bassists
Roberto "Gato" Raffan (1984)
Drummers
Beto Pinga (1984)
Igor Cavalera (1984–2006)
Jean Dolabella (2006–2011)
Touring musicians
Silvio Golfetti – lead guitar (1991)
Guilherme Martin – drums (2005)
Roy Mayorga – drums (2006)
Amilcar Christófaro – drums (2011)
Kevin Foley – drums (2013)
Timeline
Discography
Morbid Visions (1986)
Schizophrenia (1987)
Beneath the Remains (1989)
Arise (1991)
Chaos A.D. (1993)
Roots (1996)
Against (1998)
Nation (2001)
Roorback (2003)
Dante XXI (2006)
A-Lex (2009)
Kairos (2011)
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2013)
Machine Messiah (2017)
Quadra (2020)
Notes
References
Bibliography
Anonymous (May 2003). Beneath the Remains. In: A Megaton Hit Parade: The All-Time Thrash Top 20. Terrorizer No. 109, page 35.
Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34.
Colmatti, Andréa (1997). Sepultura: Igor Cavalera. Modern Drummer Brasil, 6, 18–26, 28–30.
Hinchliffe, James (December 2006). Beneath the Remains. In: Death Metal|The DM Top 40. Terrorizer No. 151, page 54.
Lemos, Anamaria (1993). Caos Desencanado. Bizz, 98, 40–45.
Schwarz, Paul (2005). Morbid Visions. In: The First Wave. Terrorizer, 128, 42.
Sepultura (1996). Roots. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).
External links
Brazilian thrash metal musical groups
Brazilian death metal musical groups
Brazilian musical groups
Roadrunner Records artists
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups from Belo Horizonte
Alternative metal musical groups
Musical quartets
Groove metal musical groups
Brazilian heavy metal musical groups
Nuclear Blast artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
1984 establishments in Brazil | true | [
"Redemption City is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, self-released as a digital download on January 18, 2012. A double album, fans were given the option to download the release for free, or make a donation. A limited vinyl release is available to purchase from Arthur's official site. Regarding the album's unconventional and immediate release following its completion, Arthur stated, \"Please don’t take the method, or the freedom, of this release to be any judgment on its value. [...] It's great to take advantage of what the internet is actually good at - immediacy. This is the first time I've released something while still inhabiting its space.\"\n\nBackground and recording\nArthur began working on Redemption City in 2009, often abandoning the project, then returning to it; building a recording studio in Brooklyn for the sole purpose of recording the album, and performing each instrument on the album himself.\n\nTitle\nUpon the album's release, Arthur included a note online discussing the album's title, stating, \"Around the time I was putting out Redemption's Son (2002), I met Peter Beard in Montauk. [...] One night I told Peter the name of my record that was\nabout to come out, \"Redemption’s Son,\" I said. \"Too religious,\" he said. He was probably right but that’s what it was called, though it wasn’t out yet. The next day he said, “I thought of a better title for you.” I asked, “What?” He paused for drama and then said, Redemption City. 9/11 had just happened, it was a crazy title and I instantly liked it better than Redemption’s Son, but it was too late, that record was already on its way to stores. But I held onto that title. [...] A few years ago I set about making it. The record inspired by the title. What would a city of redemption sound like? What kind of characters would inhabit it?\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nPart I\n\"Travel as Equals\"\n\"Wasted Days\"\n\"Mother of Exiles\"\n\"Yer Only Job\"\n\"I Miss the Zoo\"\n\"There With Me\"\n\"No Surrender Comes for Free\"\n\"Night Clothes\"\n\"Redemption City\"\n\"Barriers\"\n\"You're Not the Only One\"\n\"So Far from Free\"\n\nPart II\n\"Surrender to the Storm\"\n\"Fractures\"\n\"Free Freedom\"\n\"Touched\"\n\"Follow\"\n\"Kandinsky\"\n\"Humanity Fade\"\n\"Sleepless\"\n\"It Takes a Lot of Time to Live in the Moment\"\n\"Visit Us\"\n\"I Am the Mississippi\n\"Travel as Equals\" (reprise)\n\nPersonnel\nJoseph Arthur - all instruments, producer, mixing\nMerritt Jacob - mixing\nFred Kevorkian - mastering\nCarla Podgurecki - cover photograph\n\nReferences\n\n2012 albums\nJoseph Arthur albums",
"State of Mind is the second studio album released by Australian singer Holly Valance, released in Japan on 6 November 2003 by Warner Bros. Records. It is a mixture of dance and '80s electro-pop, some written by Valance herself. The album debuted on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at the lower ends of the chart, making it her lowest-selling album (out of two) to date. The album's only single, the title track \"State of Mind\", was a top 20 hit in Australia, Finland and the United Kingdom.\n\nThe album's genre, electropop, differs slightly from Valance's previous album Footprints (2002), She stated, \"It's kind of different 'cos at the time I was listening to rock, I was listening to dance and lots of electro and I loved them all equally. I thought[,] what would happen if we put them all in a pot and see what happens[? ...] the people I was working with at the time really like[d] that idea. So everyone was working on the same level with the same goals in mind. What we wanted to get out of it was a bit darker, a bit harder. It's a very kind of upbeat record and that's what I like to do.\"\n\nState of Mind debuted on the ARIA Albums Chart at number 57 with sales of 1,600 copies on the issue dated 17 November 2003. The following week the album sold 998 copies falling to number eighty, leaving the chart the next week, spending a total of two weeks on the chart. The album debuted on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart at number twelve with first-week sales of 21,547 copies. It the United Kingdom, the album peaked at number sixty.\n\nThe first and only single, title track \"State of Mind\", fared better, peaking at number eight in the United Kingdom and number fourteen in Australia.\n\nTrack listing\nCredits adapted from the liner notes of State of Mind.\n\nNotes\n signifies a co-producer\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2003 albums\nAlbums produced by Mark Taylor\nAlbums produced by Rick Nowels\nHolly Valance albums\nLondon Records albums\nWarner Records albums"
]
|
[
"Sepultura",
"Against, Nation and Roorback (1998-2005)",
"What was Against?",
"Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records.",
"When was it released?",
"\"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good.",
"Who was quoted saying that line?",
"AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, \"if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's",
"Did they album chart?",
"The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly.",
"When was that album released?",
"released in 1998.",
"What was the title of the album?",
"The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001,"
]
| C_e38bef0651564b979590115c22c6acb1_1 | How did it do on the charts? | 7 | How did Nation do on the charts? | Sepultura | Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come". The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album -- he has no problem going that extra mile -- and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in Sao Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Sepultura (, "grave") is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
The band has had several lineup changes throughout its existence, with Max and Igor Cavalera departing in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Sepultura's current lineup consists of vocalist Derrick Green (who replaced Max in 1998), guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande (who replaced Igor's successor Jean Dolabella in 2011). Since Igor Cavalera's departure in 2006, there have been no original members left in the band. Although Paulo Jr. joined Sepultura shortly after its formation in late 1984 and is the longest serving member, he did not play on any of the band's studio albums until Chaos A.D. (1993). Kisser, who replaced onetime guitarist Jairo Guedz, has appeared on all of Sepultura's records since their second full-length Schizophrenia (1987); he also recorded bass guitar until Chaos A.D..
Sepultura has released fifteen studio albums to date, the latest being Quadra (2020). Their most successful records are Beneath the Remains (1989), Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over three million units in the United States and almost 20 million worldwide, gaining multiple gold and platinum records around the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus, and their native Brazil.
History
Formation, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions (1984–1986)
Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The band was founded by teen brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the impoverished sons of Vânia, a model, and Graciliano, a well-to-do Italian diplomat whose fatal heart attack left his family in financial ruin. Graciliano's death deeply affected his sons, inspiring them to form a band after Max heard the album Black Sabbath Vol. 4 the very same day. They chose the band name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for "grave", when Max translated the lyrics of the Motörhead song "Dancing on Your Grave".
The brothers' early influences included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, and metal and hard rock artists of the early 1980s, such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and V8. They would travel to a record shop in São Paulo that mixed tapes of the latest records by American bands. Their listening habits changed dramatically after being introduced to Venom. As Igor Cavalera put it:
The Cavalera brothers started listening to bands such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, and Exciter. They also had influences on Brazilian metal from bands like Stress, Sagrado Inferno, and Dorsal Atlântica. By 1984, they had dropped out of school. After several early membership changes, Sepultura established a stable lineup of Max on guitar, Igor on drums, vocalist Wagner Lamounier, and bassist Paulo Jr. Lamounier departed in March 1985 after disagreements with the band, and moved on to become the leader of the pioneering Brazilian black metal band Sarcófago. After his departure, Max took over the vocal duties. Jairo Guedes was invited to join the band as lead guitarist.
After about a year of performing, Sepultura signed to Cogumelo Records in 1985. Later that year, they released Bestial Devastation, a shared EP with fellow Brazilian band Overdose. It was recorded and self-produced in just two days. The band recorded their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, in August 1986. It contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom", which gained some media attention. The band then decided to relocate to the larger city of São Paulo.
Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains, and Arise (1987–1992)
In early 1987, Jairo Guedz quit the band. Guedz was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser, and they released their second studio album, Schizophrenia, later that year. The album reflected a stylistic change towards a more thrash metal-oriented sound, while still keeping the death metal elements of Morbid Visions. Schizophrenia was an improvement in production and performance, and became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America as a much sought-after import. The band sent tapes to the United States that made radio playlists at a time when they were struggling to book gigs, because club owners were afraid to book them due to their style. The band gained attention from Roadrunner Records who signed them and released Schizophrenia internationally before seeing the band perform in person.
During a May 2018 interview with teenyrockers.com, Kisser noted that Sepultura would not have been possible without family support, not only from his own family, but also from the families of Max and Igor, and Paulo Jr.
The band's third studio album, Beneath the Remains, was released in 1989. The album was recorded in a rustic studio in Rio de Janeiro while the band communicated through translators with the American producer Scott Burns. It was an immediate success and became known in thrash metal circles as a classic on the order of Slayer's Reign in Blood. It was hailed by Terrorizer magazine as one of the all-time top 20 thrash metal albums, as well as gaining a place in their all-time top 40 death metal records. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "The complete absence of filler here makes this one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time." A long European and American tour furthered the band's reputation, despite the fact that they were still very limited English speakers. Sepultura's first live dates outside of Brazil were opening for Sodom on their Agent Orange tour in Europe; following this was Sepultura's first US show, which was held on October 31, 1989 at the Ritz in New York City, opening for Danish heavy metal band King Diamond. The band filmed its first video for the song "Inner Self", which received considerable airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball, giving Sepultura their first exposure in North America. Touring in support of Beneath the Remains continued throughout much of 1990, including three shows in Brazil with Napalm Death, European dates with Mordred and a US tour with Obituary and Sadus.
In January 1991, Sepultura played for more than 100,000 people at the Rock in Rio II festival. The band relocated from their native Brazil to Phoenix, Arizona in 1990, obtained new management, and recorded the album Arise at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. By the time the album was released in March 1991, the band had become one of the most critically praised thrash/death metal bands of the time. The first single "Dead Embryonic Cells" was a success, and the title track gained additional attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery; it did, however, get some airplay on Headbangers Ball as did the music videos for "Dead Embryonic Cells" and "Desperate Cry". Arise was critically acclaimed and their first to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 119.
Sepultura toured relentlessly throughout 1991 and 1992 in support of Arise; its touring cycle began in May 1991 with a European trek with Sacred Reich and Heathen, followed by the New Titans on the Block tour in the US that included support from Sacred Reich, Napalm Death and Sick of It All. They also played with several other bands, including Slayer, Testament, Motörhead, Kreator, White Zombie, Type O Negative and Fudge Tunnel, and along with Alice in Chains, Sepultura supported Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tears tour. Max Cavalera married the band's manager Gloria Bujnowski during this period. The Arise tour concluded in December 1992 with a US tour, where the band (along with Helmet) supported Ministry's Psalm 69 tour.
Chaos A.D., Nailbomb and Roots (1993–1996)
Sepultura's fifth album, Chaos A.D., was released in 1993. Supported by the singles "Refuse/Resist", "Territory" and "Slave New World", this was their only album to be released in North America by Epic Records, and the first of two albums by Sepultura to be certified gold there. It saw a departure from their death metal style, adding influences of groove metal, industrial and hardcore punk. While Chaos A.D. is not a death metal album, the album does include elements of thrash metal music. AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that, "Chaos A.D. ranks as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time." The band did a year-long tour in support of Chaos A.D., starting with a headlining European run with Paradise Lost, followed by a US tour with Fudge Tunnel, Fear Factory and Clutch. They were also one of the support acts (along with Biohazard and Prong) for Pantera's Far Beyond Driven tour in North America, and then opened for the Ramones in South America and toured Australia and New Zealand with Sacred Reich. By the time the Chaos A.D. tour ended in November 1994, Sepultura was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the day.
Also in 1994, Max and Igor collaborated with Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel to form Nailbomb. They released an even more industrial-oriented album, Point Blank the same year. The group performed only one full live gig at Dynamo Open Air in 1995, and the performance was released as Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. Nailbomb was disbanded shortly afterwards.
Sepultura's sound change continued with their sixth album, Roots, which was released in 1996. On this album the band experimented with elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples, and adopted a slower, down-tuned sound. The album was hailed as a modern-day heavy metal classic and a major influence on the then-nascent nu metal scene. AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Roots consolidates Sepultura's position as perhaps the most distinctive, original heavy metal band of the 1990s." In 1996, Sepultura performed "War (Guerra)" for the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Departure of Max Cavalera, Derrick Green joins and Against (1996–2000)
In August 1996, Sepultura played on the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock main stage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Fear Factory. The band was suddenly a three-piece with Andreas Kisser taking over on lead vocals, after Max Cavalera left the concert site earlier in the day upon learning of the death of his stepson Dana Wells in a car accident. After Dana Wells' funeral was finished, Max returned and continued to tour with Sepultura. A few months after Wells' death, the band had a meeting with Max and said that they wanted to fire their manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was Max's wife and Dana's mother, and find new management. Their reasoning was that Bujnowski was giving preferential treatment to Max while neglecting the rest of the band. Max, who was still coming to terms with the death of Wells, felt betrayed by his bandmates for wanting to get rid of Bujnowski and abruptly quit the band. Max Cavalera's final performance with Sepultura was at Brixton Academy in England on December 16, 1996.
Following Max Cavalera's departure, the remaining members of Sepultura announced plans to find a new vocalist. Among those who auditioned were Chuck Billy of Testament, Phil Demmel of Machine Head and Vio-lence, Marc Grewe of Morgoth, Jorge Rosado of Merauder and a then-unknown Jason "Gong" Jones. American musician Derrick Green from Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as the band's new front-man. The first album with the new line-up was Against, which was released in 1998. The album was critically and commercially less successful than previous albums and sold considerably fewer copies than the debut album by Max Cavalera's new band Soulfly. In a retrospective review AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that "there are enough flashes of the old Sepultura brilliance to suggest that great things are still to come".
Nation and Roorback (2001–2005)
The band's eighth album, Nation, released in 2001, sold poorly. It would be their last studio album with Roadrunner Records. AllMusic gives the album 3 stars out of 5 and said, "As Green scrapes the lining of his vocal chords through the brash, impassioned tracks, he's singing about more than just 'one nation, Sepulnation'; he's suggesting something bigger, something worth shouting about and fighting for." In an interview, Derrick Green said that, "Every song will be related to the idea of building this nation. We will have our own flags, our own anthem." A recording of Max Cavalera's last live show with Sepultura, titled Under a Pale Grey Sky, was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records.
After recording Revolusongs, an EP of covers in 2002, the band released their ninth studio album, Roorback, in 2003. Despite receiving greater critical acclaim than its predecessors, sales remained low. It was their first album with SPV Records. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "if there are still any lingering doubts about the Green/Sepultura match, 2003's excellent Roorback should put them to rest for good. Green is passionate and focused throughout the album — he has no problem going that extra mile — and the writing is consistently strong." In 2005, the band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival. In November of that year, a live double DVD/double CD package, Live in São Paulo, was released. This was the first official live album from the band.
Dante XXI, A-Lex, and departure of Igor Cavalera (2006–2010)
Sepultura's tenth album, Dante XXI, was released on March 14, 2006. It is a concept album based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Music videos were recorded for the songs "Convicted in Life" and "Ostia". AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Overall, Dante XXI is easily one of Sepultura's strongest releases to feature Green on vocals."
In a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine, Max Cavalera stated that he and Igor, both of whom having recently reconciled after a decade-long feud, would reunite with the original Sepultura lineup. There were also rumors that the reunited line up would play on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007. However, this was denied by Kisser and the reunion did not occur. Instead, Igor Cavalera left the band after the release of Dante XXI and was replaced by Brazilian drummer Jean Dolabella, leaving the band without any of its original members. After leaving Sepultura, Igor and Max formed Cavalera Conspiracy.
The band was one of the featured musical guests at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13. They performed a cover of "The Girl from Ipanema", and "We've Lost You" from the album A-Lex. The 9th annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and aired on Univision. Sepultura also appeared in a successful ad campaign for Volkswagen motors commercial that aired nationally throughout Brazil in 2008. The spot said that "it's the first time you've seen Sepultura like this. And a Sedan like this one too". The Volkswagen TV spot shows Sepultura playing bossa nova, the opposite of its heavy metal style, to say that "you never saw something like this, as you never saw a car like the new Voyage."
Sepultura released the album A-Lex on January 26, 2009. This was the first Sepultura album to include neither of the Cavalera brothers, with bassist Paulo Jr. as the sole remaining member from the band's debut album. A-Lex is a concept album based on the book A Clockwork Orange. The album was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, with producer Stanley Soares. AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Personnel changes can have a very negative effect on a band, but Sepultura have maintained their vitality all these years – and that vitality is alive and well on the superb A-Lex." In the same year Andreas Kisser contributed his recipe for "Churrasco in Soy Sauce" to Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook, stating in the recipe that he prefers his meat "medium-rare". Sepultura supported Metallica on January 30 and 31, 2010, at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. The two concerts were attended by 100,000 people. The band filmed a concert DVD in 2010. Sepultura played at Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, on April 27, 2010. On August 8, 2010 visited the UK to play at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone.
Kairos and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2010–2015)
On July 6, 2010, it was announced that Sepultura were signed with Nuclear Blast Records, and would release their first album for the label in 2011. The band confirmed that there would be no reunion of the classic lineup. By the end of 2010, the band began writing new material and entered the studio to begin recording their 12th album with producer Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Andre Matos). On March 1, 2011, Sepultura had completed recording their new album, entitled Kairos, which was released in June 2011.
The album includes cover versions of Ministry's "Just One Fix" and The Prodigy's "Firestarter", both of which are available as bonus tracks on various special-edition releases. Sepultura played on the Kairos World Tour and at Wacken Open Air 2011. Drummer Jean Dolabella left the band and was replaced by 20-year-old Eloy Casagrande in November 2011, who had already played in Brazilian heavy metal singer Andre Matos' solo band and in the Brazilian post-hardcore band Gloria. In November and December 2011 Sepultura participated the Thrashfest Classics 2011 tour alongside thrash metal bands like Exodus, Destruction, Heathen, and Mortal Sin.
In May 2012, guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Underground that Sepultura would soon "start working on something new with Eloy" and see if they could "get ready for new music early next year". In an interview at England's Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2012, Kisser revealed that Sepultura would be filming a live DVD with the French percussive group Les Tambours du Bronx. He also revealed that the band was "already thinking about new ideas" for their next album and would "have something new going on" in 2013.
On December 10, 2012, producer Ross Robinson, who produced Sepultura's Roots album, tweeted: "Oh, didn't mention.. Spoke to Andreas, it's on. My vision, smoke Roots" suggesting he would be producing the band's next album. This was later confirmed, as well as an announcement that the album would be co-produced by Steve Evetts. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo made a guest appearance on the album.
On January 25, 2013, it was announced that author Jason Korolenko was working on Relentless – 30 Years of Sepultura, which is described in a press release as "the only book-length biography to cover the band's entire 30-year career." Relentless was published on October 8, 2014 in Poland under the title Brazylijska Furia, and the English language edition was published via Rocket 88 on December 4, 2014. The Brazilian edition, titled Relentless – 30 Anos de Sepultura, is scheduled for publication via Benvira in early 2015. The French language edition of "Relentless" was published in France on October 19, 2015.
On July 19, 2013, it was revealed that the title of the band's thirteenth album was The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. In September 2013, they performed at Rock in Rio with Brazilian rock/MPB artist Zé Ramalho – this line-up was named "Zépultura", a portmanteau of both artists' names.
Machine Messiah and Quadra (2016–present)
After spending more than two years of touring in support of The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, Sepultura entered the studio in mid-2016 to begin recording their fourteenth studio album, with Jens Bogren as the producer. The resulting album, Machine Messiah, was released on January 13, 2017. Sepultura promoted the album with a series of world tours, including supporting Kreator on their Gods of Violence tour in Europe in February–March 2017, and along with Prong, they supported Testament on the latter's Brotherhood of the Snake tour in the United States in April–May 2017. The band also toured Europe in February and March 2018 with Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit for an Autopsy, and Australia in May with Death Angel.
The first official Sepultura documentary, Sepultura Endurance, was premiered in May 2017 and released on June 17. Max and Igor declined to be interviewed for the film and also refused to allow early material of the band to be used.
In an August 2018 interview at Wacken Open Air, Kisser confirmed that Sepultura had begun the songwriting process of their fifteenth studio album, and stated later that month that it was not expected to be released before 2020. The band began recording the album, again with producer Bogren, in August 2019 for a tentative February 2020 release.
In October 2019, during their performance at Rock in Rio 8, the band announced the name and revealed the cover for their fifteenth studio album, which would be named Quadra. They also played the lead single, named "Isolation", which is also the opening track for the album. On November 8, they released the studio version of "Isolation" and announced that Quadra would be released on February 7, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sepultura had not been able to tour or play any shows in support of Quadra for over two years after its release. They played their first show in two years at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro on February 12, 2022. The band will promote Quadra by touring the United States with Sacred Reich, Crowbar and Art of Shock, and Europe with the two-thirds of US leg (only Sacred Reich and Crowbar remaining); due to the COVID-19 situation, the tours had been rescheduled to two years from March and April 2020 and a year from the fall of 2021 respectively.
Sepultura released a quarantine collaboration album on August 13, 2021, titled SepulQuarta, which includes contributions by members of Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, System of a Down, Trivium and Sacred Reich.
Musical style, influences, and legacy
Sepultura's early influences were heavy metal and hard rock groups such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Venom, Celtic Frost, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake, as well as thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction and death metal bands Possessed and Death. They were also influenced by punk rock music, including bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Discharge, S.O.D., Amebix and New Model Army. Andreas Kisser has affirmed that "without Slayer, Sepultura would never be possible."
Sepultura's music comes in a wide range of heavy metal musical styles. The band has been described mainly as thrash metal and death metal, and considered one of the primary inventors of the latter genre. Another genre the band has been commonly categorized under is groove metal. The band later on started experimenting with elements of other musical genres such as hardcore punk, industrial metal, alternative metal, world music and nu metal.
Elements of Latin music, samba and Brazilian folk and tribal music have also been incorporated into Sepultura's metal style, particularly on Roots. Roots was partly recorded with the indigenous Xavante tribe in Mato Grosso, and incorporates percussion, rhythms, chanting and lyrical themes inspired by the collaboration.
Looking back on the band's career arc for a 2016 article on Max and Igor Cavalera's retrospective Return to Roots tour (in commemoration of the album's 20th anniversary), Nashville Scene contributor Saby Reyes-Kulkarni observed that "Before Chaos A.D., the overwhelming majority of metal had a 'white' feel to it. Sepultura changed that forever. And with Roots, the band went a step further, asserting once and for all that the genre can accommodate native stylings from any culture, much like jazz had done for decades prior."
MTV has called Sepultura the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history and "perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s." In 1993, Robert Baird of Phoenix New Times wrote that the band played "machine-gun-tempo mayhem" and that the members "love to attack organized religion and repressive government."
A number of bands have cited Sepultura as an influence, including Slipknot, Korn, Hatebreed, Alien Weaponry, Krisiun, Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Xibalba, Vein, Toxic Holocaust, Code Orange, Puya and Nails.
Band members
Current members
Paulo Jr. – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)
Andreas Kisser – lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–present), lead vocals (1996–1998)
Derrick Green – lead vocals (1998–present), additional rhythm guitar (1998–2005)
Eloy Casagrande – drums, percussion (2011–present)
Former members
Vocalists
Wagner Lamounier (1984–1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Rhythm guitarists
Cássio (1984)
Roberto UFO (1984)
Julio Cesar Vieira Franco (1985)
Max Cavalera (1985–1996)
Lead guitarists
Max Cavalera (1984–1985)
Jairo Guedz (1985–1987)
Bassists
Roberto "Gato" Raffan (1984)
Drummers
Beto Pinga (1984)
Igor Cavalera (1984–2006)
Jean Dolabella (2006–2011)
Touring musicians
Silvio Golfetti – lead guitar (1991)
Guilherme Martin – drums (2005)
Roy Mayorga – drums (2006)
Amilcar Christófaro – drums (2011)
Kevin Foley – drums (2013)
Timeline
Discography
Morbid Visions (1986)
Schizophrenia (1987)
Beneath the Remains (1989)
Arise (1991)
Chaos A.D. (1993)
Roots (1996)
Against (1998)
Nation (2001)
Roorback (2003)
Dante XXI (2006)
A-Lex (2009)
Kairos (2011)
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2013)
Machine Messiah (2017)
Quadra (2020)
Notes
References
Bibliography
Anonymous (May 2003). Beneath the Remains. In: A Megaton Hit Parade: The All-Time Thrash Top 20. Terrorizer No. 109, page 35.
Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34.
Colmatti, Andréa (1997). Sepultura: Igor Cavalera. Modern Drummer Brasil, 6, 18–26, 28–30.
Hinchliffe, James (December 2006). Beneath the Remains. In: Death Metal|The DM Top 40. Terrorizer No. 151, page 54.
Lemos, Anamaria (1993). Caos Desencanado. Bizz, 98, 40–45.
Schwarz, Paul (2005). Morbid Visions. In: The First Wave. Terrorizer, 128, 42.
Sepultura (1996). Roots. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The 25th Anniversary Series (2-CD Reissue, 2005).
External links
Brazilian thrash metal musical groups
Brazilian death metal musical groups
Brazilian musical groups
Roadrunner Records artists
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups from Belo Horizonte
Alternative metal musical groups
Musical quartets
Groove metal musical groups
Brazilian heavy metal musical groups
Nuclear Blast artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
1984 establishments in Brazil | false | [
"This Is How We Do It is the debut studio album by Montell Jordan. The album peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 and #4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was certified platinum. The album also featured the single \"This Is How We Do It\", which made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #1 on the Rhythmic Top 40. Another single, \"Somethin' 4 da Honeyz\", peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #18 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\nMontell Jordan albums\n1995 debut albums\nDef Jam Recordings albums",
"\"Roll On\" is a song by British girl group Mis-Teeq. Produced by Blacksmith, it was recorded for the band's debut album, Lickin' on Both Sides (2001). The song was released on a double A-single along with a cover version of Montell Jordan's \"This Is How We Do It\" on 17 June 2002, marking the album's final single. Upon its release, it became another top-10 success for the band on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number seven.\n\nMusic video\nInstead of filming two separate music videos for the double A-side single, one music video was filmed combining both songs. The video opens with \"Roll On\", starting with a group of men playing basketball in a court. The three members of Mis-Teeq (Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash and Sabrina Washington) arrive in a lowrider and watch the men play basketball, and occasionally join in. Then it changes to dusk and cuts to the single \"This Is How We Do It\". The music video was filmed in various parts of Los Angeles, California in the US.\n\nTrack listings\n\nUK CD single\n \"Roll On\" (Rishi Rich BhangraHop edit)\n \"This Is How We Do It\" (Rishi Rich Mayfair edit)\n \"Roll On\" / \"This Is How We Do It\" (video)\n\nUK cassette single\n \"Roll On\" (Rishi Rich BhangraHop edit)\n \"This Is How We Do It\" (Rishi Rich Mayfair edit)\n \"Roll On\" (Rishi Rich radio mix)\n\nEuropean CD single\n \"Roll On\" (Rishi Rich BhangraHop edit) – 3:45\n \"This Is How We Do It\" (Rishi Rich Mayfair edit) – 3:27\n\nAustralian CD single\n \"Roll On\" (Rishi Rich radio mix)\n \"This Is How We Do It\" (Rishi Rich Mayfair edit)\n \"Roll On\" (Blacksmith Olde Skool mix)\n \"This Is How We Do It\" (Mayfair club rub)\n \"Roll On\" (Rishi Rich club mix)\n\nCharts\nAll entries charted with \"This Is How We Do It\" except where noted.\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n2001 songs\n2002 singles\nMis-Teeq songs\nTelstar Records singles"
]
|
[
"Mindy McCready",
"Music"
]
| C_c5ddad52af244eeb80bab77fd77895a7_1 | What is a name of one of her albums? | 1 | What is a name of one of Mindy McCready's albums? | Mindy McCready | Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age three, and graduated from high school at the age of 16 with the intention of beginning her music career early. When she was 18, she moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time." This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)," peaked at No. 4. The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do," "The Other Side of This Kiss," and "You'll Never Know." The album sold 825,000 copies. In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything," failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year. In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010. CANNOTANSWER | In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. | Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA Records and was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA, while 1997's If I Don't Stay the Night was certified Gold. 1999's I'm Not So Tough, her final album for BNA, was less successful, and she left the label. A self-titled fourth album followed in 2002 on Capitol Records. McCready's fifth and final studio album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010 on Iconic Records.
McCready's first four studio albums yielded twelve singles on the Billboard country singles charts. This figure includes the 1 hit "Guys Do It All the Time", as well as the Top 10 hits "Ten Thousand Angels" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)".
Although she had not charted a single since 2002, McCready received significant media coverage regarding her troubled personal life and suicide attempts and her eventual death by suicide.
Career
Music
Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age 3 and graduated from high school at the age of 16 to begin her music career early.
When she was 18, McCready moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time". This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now", a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)", peaked at No. 4.
The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do", "The Other Side of This Kiss", and "You'll Never Know". The album sold 825,000 copies.
In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything", failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year.
In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010.
On February 18, 2013, the day after McCready's death, her final song, "I'll See You Yesterday" was released.
Reality television
In June 2009, McCready signed on to appear on the reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The series aired and depicted her struggle with substance addiction. She later discussed her recovery and possible studio work with Todd Gaither on a March 2010 episode of The View.
In mid-2011, McCready appeared on Celebrity Close Calls and Celebrity Ghost Stories series 3 episode 6. She also appeared on the December 9, 2011 episode of 20/20, where she discussed her son Zander, her producer boyfriend David Wilson, and new music.
Personal life
In 1997, McCready became engaged to actor Dean Cain. The couple broke up the following year. McCready also dated former NHL hockey player Drake Berehowsky.
In December 2003, she began dating aspiring singer William Patrick "Billy" McKnight. On May 8, 2005, McKnight was arrested and charged with attempted murder after beating and choking her. After reporting to People magazine that she had cut ties with McKnight, McCready was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, after attempting suicide in July 2005. She was hospitalized for a drug overdose after consuming a large amount of undisclosed drugs with alcohol. The couple eventually got back together and McCready became pregnant. In September 2005, while she was pregnant with McKnight's child, she attempted suicide again by overdosing on antidepressants. In March 2006, McCready gave birth to a son, Zander Ryan McCready.
On December 17, 2008, paramedics were called to McCready's Nashville home after an apparent suicide attempt; they transported her to a hospital after finding wounds on her wrists.
In 2009, she joined the cast of Celebrity Rehab 3 with Dr. Drew Pinsky.
On May 25, 2010, McCready was hospitalized in Cape Coral, Florida, for a possible drug overdose; she may have had a reaction to Darvocet her mother had given her. She was released later that day and returned home.
A pornographic videotape of McCready and an ex-boyfriend referred to as "Peter" went on sale by Vivid Entertainment in 2010.
In April 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, a son named Zayne. The child's father, record producer David Wilson, was found dead on January 13, 2013, at McCready's home, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Cleburne County, Arkansas, sheriff's department opened an investigation into Wilson's death. Following Wilson's death, McCready released a statement in which she referred to him as her "soulmate" and "life partner".
Roger Clemens affair
In April 2008, the New York Daily News reported a possible long-term relationship between McCready and baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was 15. Clemens' attorney Rusty Hardin denied the affair, stating that Clemens would bring a defamation suit regarding this false allegation. Clemens' attorney admitted that a relationship existed but described McCready as a "close family friend". He also stated that McCready had traveled on Clemens' personal jet and that Clemens' wife was aware of the relationship. Clemens issued a statement saying only, "I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry." McCready described the relationship as being sexual in nature.
On November 17, 2008, McCready spoke in more detail to Inside Edition about her affair with Clemens. She stated that their relationship lasted for more than a decade, ending when Clemens refused to leave his wife to marry McCready. She was 16 when they first met, she said, adding that the relationship didn't become sexual "until several years later".
Legal issues
In August 2004, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for using a fake prescription to buy the painkiller OxyContin. Although she initially denied the charge, she pleaded guilty and was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years of probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
In May 2005, McCready was stopped by Nashville police for speeding, then arrested and charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. A jury later found her not guilty on the charges of DUI but guilty of driving with a suspended license. That July, she was charged in Arizona with identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment, and hindering prosecution. An arrest warrant was issued for her the following month for violation of her probation when she left Tennessee without her probation officer's permission. She was also charged with not reporting to her probation officer during July. She was finally arrested in Florida and returned to Tennessee. She faced a hearing later that year on charges of violating her probation on a drug charge by failing to check in with her probation officer and leaving the state without permission to go to Florida.
In July 2007, McCready was arrested in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, and charged with battery and resisting arrest for an apparent scuffle with her mother. The following week, she was taken into custody at the Nashville International Airport for violating probation. In September, McCready was sentenced to a year in jail for violating probation. In addition to the jail time, she was ordered to serve two more years of probation and perform 200 additional hours of community service. She was released from jail in December.
In June 2008, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for violating the terms of her probation set in September 2007. Sentenced to 60 days in jail, McCready turned herself in on September 30, 2008. After serving half of her sentence, she was released early for good behavior on October 30, 2008.
McCready was associated with and allegedly victimized by con man Jonathan Roda. The case was featured on television's I (Almost) Got Away with It.
Death
On February 17, 2013, McCready's neighbors called the Sheriff's Office of Cleburne County, Arkansas, reporting gunshots. McCready was found dead on her front porch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the same place where David Wilson, her former boyfriend and the father of her younger son, had fatally shot himself one month prior. She was 37 years old. References say that she also shot and killed Wilson's pet dog before her suicide. McCready is interred at Alva Cemetery in Alva, Florida.
Discography
Albums
Ten Thousand Angels (1996)
If I Don't Stay the Night (1997)
I'm Not So Tough (1999)
Mindy McCready (2002)
I'm Still Here (2010)
References
External links
[ Mindy McCready] at AllMusic
1975 births
2013 suicides
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
American country singer-songwriters
American women country singers
BNA Records artists
Burials in Florida
Capitol Records artists
Country musicians from Florida
Country musicians from Tennessee
Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
Participants in American reality television series
People from Fort Myers, Florida
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Suicides by firearm in Arkansas
People from Heber Springs, Arkansas
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Country musicians from Arkansas | true | [
"Mask is the seventh studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Aco, released on 22 February 2006. It is a mini-album consisting of six songs and with a total playing time of 25 minutes.\n\nMask marks a significant transition in Aco's style from ambient, electronic sounds of her previous two albums, Material and Irony, to lighter, electro-pop music.\n\nTrack 3 is a cover of the song of the same name by The Waitresses.\n\nTrack listing \n Ya-yo!\n Guilty\n I Know What Boys Like\n \n Cover Grrrl\n\nReferences \n\n2006 albums\nAco (musician) albums",
"Le Canto is the first album Spanish language version of Kari Jobe, which translated to \"I'm Singing\", which is also the name of the debut single. Unlike the album in English, Le Canto features two songs not featured on original album. Le Canto was released on April 28, 2009. The album Le Canto won a Dove Award in the category, Spanish Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards.\n\nCritical reception\n\nAwarding the album with three stars out of five, Andree Farias from Allmusic's said \"If one didn't know a word of Spanish, Kari Jobe's Le Canto would sound exactly like what it is: the Spanish-language version of her wildly popular self-titled debut. She sings the heck out of the songs; the purity and conviction in her voice remain her strongest suit.\n\nTrack listing\n\nNOTE: These songs are Spanish-language translations of Kari Jobe songs in English. The original English-language song is listed next to each title.\n\nAwards\nOn February 18, 2010, Le Canto was nominated for a Dove Award for Spanish Language Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards. \n\nLe Canto won a Dove Award in 2010 for Best Spanish Language Album of the Year.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2009 albums\nKari Jobe albums\nSpanish-language albums\nColumbia Records albums"
]
|
[
"Mindy McCready",
"Music",
"What is a name of one of her albums?",
"In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough."
]
| C_c5ddad52af244eeb80bab77fd77895a7_1 | Did she have success as a musician? | 2 | Did Mindy McCready have success as a musician? | Mindy McCready | Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age three, and graduated from high school at the age of 16 with the intention of beginning her music career early. When she was 18, she moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time." This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)," peaked at No. 4. The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do," "The Other Side of This Kiss," and "You'll Never Know." The album sold 825,000 copies. In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything," failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year. In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010. CANNOTANSWER | debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles | Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA Records and was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA, while 1997's If I Don't Stay the Night was certified Gold. 1999's I'm Not So Tough, her final album for BNA, was less successful, and she left the label. A self-titled fourth album followed in 2002 on Capitol Records. McCready's fifth and final studio album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010 on Iconic Records.
McCready's first four studio albums yielded twelve singles on the Billboard country singles charts. This figure includes the 1 hit "Guys Do It All the Time", as well as the Top 10 hits "Ten Thousand Angels" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)".
Although she had not charted a single since 2002, McCready received significant media coverage regarding her troubled personal life and suicide attempts and her eventual death by suicide.
Career
Music
Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age 3 and graduated from high school at the age of 16 to begin her music career early.
When she was 18, McCready moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time". This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now", a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)", peaked at No. 4.
The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do", "The Other Side of This Kiss", and "You'll Never Know". The album sold 825,000 copies.
In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything", failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year.
In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010.
On February 18, 2013, the day after McCready's death, her final song, "I'll See You Yesterday" was released.
Reality television
In June 2009, McCready signed on to appear on the reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The series aired and depicted her struggle with substance addiction. She later discussed her recovery and possible studio work with Todd Gaither on a March 2010 episode of The View.
In mid-2011, McCready appeared on Celebrity Close Calls and Celebrity Ghost Stories series 3 episode 6. She also appeared on the December 9, 2011 episode of 20/20, where she discussed her son Zander, her producer boyfriend David Wilson, and new music.
Personal life
In 1997, McCready became engaged to actor Dean Cain. The couple broke up the following year. McCready also dated former NHL hockey player Drake Berehowsky.
In December 2003, she began dating aspiring singer William Patrick "Billy" McKnight. On May 8, 2005, McKnight was arrested and charged with attempted murder after beating and choking her. After reporting to People magazine that she had cut ties with McKnight, McCready was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, after attempting suicide in July 2005. She was hospitalized for a drug overdose after consuming a large amount of undisclosed drugs with alcohol. The couple eventually got back together and McCready became pregnant. In September 2005, while she was pregnant with McKnight's child, she attempted suicide again by overdosing on antidepressants. In March 2006, McCready gave birth to a son, Zander Ryan McCready.
On December 17, 2008, paramedics were called to McCready's Nashville home after an apparent suicide attempt; they transported her to a hospital after finding wounds on her wrists.
In 2009, she joined the cast of Celebrity Rehab 3 with Dr. Drew Pinsky.
On May 25, 2010, McCready was hospitalized in Cape Coral, Florida, for a possible drug overdose; she may have had a reaction to Darvocet her mother had given her. She was released later that day and returned home.
A pornographic videotape of McCready and an ex-boyfriend referred to as "Peter" went on sale by Vivid Entertainment in 2010.
In April 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, a son named Zayne. The child's father, record producer David Wilson, was found dead on January 13, 2013, at McCready's home, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Cleburne County, Arkansas, sheriff's department opened an investigation into Wilson's death. Following Wilson's death, McCready released a statement in which she referred to him as her "soulmate" and "life partner".
Roger Clemens affair
In April 2008, the New York Daily News reported a possible long-term relationship between McCready and baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was 15. Clemens' attorney Rusty Hardin denied the affair, stating that Clemens would bring a defamation suit regarding this false allegation. Clemens' attorney admitted that a relationship existed but described McCready as a "close family friend". He also stated that McCready had traveled on Clemens' personal jet and that Clemens' wife was aware of the relationship. Clemens issued a statement saying only, "I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry." McCready described the relationship as being sexual in nature.
On November 17, 2008, McCready spoke in more detail to Inside Edition about her affair with Clemens. She stated that their relationship lasted for more than a decade, ending when Clemens refused to leave his wife to marry McCready. She was 16 when they first met, she said, adding that the relationship didn't become sexual "until several years later".
Legal issues
In August 2004, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for using a fake prescription to buy the painkiller OxyContin. Although she initially denied the charge, she pleaded guilty and was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years of probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
In May 2005, McCready was stopped by Nashville police for speeding, then arrested and charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. A jury later found her not guilty on the charges of DUI but guilty of driving with a suspended license. That July, she was charged in Arizona with identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment, and hindering prosecution. An arrest warrant was issued for her the following month for violation of her probation when she left Tennessee without her probation officer's permission. She was also charged with not reporting to her probation officer during July. She was finally arrested in Florida and returned to Tennessee. She faced a hearing later that year on charges of violating her probation on a drug charge by failing to check in with her probation officer and leaving the state without permission to go to Florida.
In July 2007, McCready was arrested in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, and charged with battery and resisting arrest for an apparent scuffle with her mother. The following week, she was taken into custody at the Nashville International Airport for violating probation. In September, McCready was sentenced to a year in jail for violating probation. In addition to the jail time, she was ordered to serve two more years of probation and perform 200 additional hours of community service. She was released from jail in December.
In June 2008, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for violating the terms of her probation set in September 2007. Sentenced to 60 days in jail, McCready turned herself in on September 30, 2008. After serving half of her sentence, she was released early for good behavior on October 30, 2008.
McCready was associated with and allegedly victimized by con man Jonathan Roda. The case was featured on television's I (Almost) Got Away with It.
Death
On February 17, 2013, McCready's neighbors called the Sheriff's Office of Cleburne County, Arkansas, reporting gunshots. McCready was found dead on her front porch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the same place where David Wilson, her former boyfriend and the father of her younger son, had fatally shot himself one month prior. She was 37 years old. References say that she also shot and killed Wilson's pet dog before her suicide. McCready is interred at Alva Cemetery in Alva, Florida.
Discography
Albums
Ten Thousand Angels (1996)
If I Don't Stay the Night (1997)
I'm Not So Tough (1999)
Mindy McCready (2002)
I'm Still Here (2010)
References
External links
[ Mindy McCready] at AllMusic
1975 births
2013 suicides
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
American country singer-songwriters
American women country singers
BNA Records artists
Burials in Florida
Capitol Records artists
Country musicians from Florida
Country musicians from Tennessee
Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
Participants in American reality television series
People from Fort Myers, Florida
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Suicides by firearm in Arkansas
People from Heber Springs, Arkansas
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Country musicians from Arkansas | true | [
"Gry Johansen-Meilstrup (known as Gry) (born 28 August 1964 in Copenhagen) is a Danish singer who represented her country in Eurovision Song Contest 1983. She performed the song \"Kloden drejer\" (\"The planet's spinning\"). The song was placed seventeenth out of twenty. Johansen made further bids for Eurovision glory when she participated in the Danish national selection contests in 1985, 1989 and 2000. However, she won on none of those occasions.\n\nShe did have success in Germany together with German singer and producer Bernie Paul with whom she scored hits like \"Our Love Is Alive\", \"Reach Out For The Stars\" and with whom she recorded the album \"Moments In Love\". She called herself \"Bo Andersen\" for these releases. Gry has participated in several Danish TV shows as singer/musician.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1964 births\nLiving people\nEurovision Song Contest entrants for Denmark\n20th-century Danish women singers\nEurovision Song Contest entrants of 1983",
"Julia vs. Julia is a Mexican comedy television series produced by Nazareno P. Brancatto that aired on Las Estrellas from 30 April 2019 to 23 July 2019. The series stars Consuelo Duval as the titular character.\n\nPlot \nJulia Montemayor managed to be at the height of fame, being one of the most famous television actresses. This is how she learned the privileges that success and fame grants. Later she is replaced by a younger woman, reason why she falls into decline and is fired. Julia never prepared for that as she never saved her money, she did not seek friendships, she did not have any relationships and, above all, she did not care for her family. Now, faced with the adversity of losing everything, she must remake her way of life. However, Julia is unpredictable and in trying to live in a normal world, she turns upside down the lives of her son, her assistant and her eccentric mother.\n\nCast \n Consuelo Duval as Julia Montemayor\n Ruy Senderos as Jaime\n Liliana Abud as Carmen\n Alberto Garmassi as Samuel\n Alejandro Ávila as Emiliano\n Priscila Faz as Lucía\n Nailea Norvind as Isabel\n\nEpisodes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nLas Estrellas original programming\nMexican television sitcoms\nTelevision series by Televisa\n2019 Mexican television series debuts\n2019 Mexican television series endings\nSpanish-language television shows"
]
|
[
"Mindy McCready",
"Music",
"What is a name of one of her albums?",
"In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough.",
"Did she have success as a musician?",
"debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles"
]
| C_c5ddad52af244eeb80bab77fd77895a7_1 | What other albums did she produce? | 3 | What other albums did Mindy McCready produce in addition to Ten Thousand Angels? | Mindy McCready | Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age three, and graduated from high school at the age of 16 with the intention of beginning her music career early. When she was 18, she moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time." This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)," peaked at No. 4. The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do," "The Other Side of This Kiss," and "You'll Never Know." The album sold 825,000 copies. In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything," failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year. In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010. CANNOTANSWER | The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. | Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA Records and was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA, while 1997's If I Don't Stay the Night was certified Gold. 1999's I'm Not So Tough, her final album for BNA, was less successful, and she left the label. A self-titled fourth album followed in 2002 on Capitol Records. McCready's fifth and final studio album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010 on Iconic Records.
McCready's first four studio albums yielded twelve singles on the Billboard country singles charts. This figure includes the 1 hit "Guys Do It All the Time", as well as the Top 10 hits "Ten Thousand Angels" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)".
Although she had not charted a single since 2002, McCready received significant media coverage regarding her troubled personal life and suicide attempts and her eventual death by suicide.
Career
Music
Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age 3 and graduated from high school at the age of 16 to begin her music career early.
When she was 18, McCready moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time". This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now", a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)", peaked at No. 4.
The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do", "The Other Side of This Kiss", and "You'll Never Know". The album sold 825,000 copies.
In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything", failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year.
In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010.
On February 18, 2013, the day after McCready's death, her final song, "I'll See You Yesterday" was released.
Reality television
In June 2009, McCready signed on to appear on the reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The series aired and depicted her struggle with substance addiction. She later discussed her recovery and possible studio work with Todd Gaither on a March 2010 episode of The View.
In mid-2011, McCready appeared on Celebrity Close Calls and Celebrity Ghost Stories series 3 episode 6. She also appeared on the December 9, 2011 episode of 20/20, where she discussed her son Zander, her producer boyfriend David Wilson, and new music.
Personal life
In 1997, McCready became engaged to actor Dean Cain. The couple broke up the following year. McCready also dated former NHL hockey player Drake Berehowsky.
In December 2003, she began dating aspiring singer William Patrick "Billy" McKnight. On May 8, 2005, McKnight was arrested and charged with attempted murder after beating and choking her. After reporting to People magazine that she had cut ties with McKnight, McCready was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, after attempting suicide in July 2005. She was hospitalized for a drug overdose after consuming a large amount of undisclosed drugs with alcohol. The couple eventually got back together and McCready became pregnant. In September 2005, while she was pregnant with McKnight's child, she attempted suicide again by overdosing on antidepressants. In March 2006, McCready gave birth to a son, Zander Ryan McCready.
On December 17, 2008, paramedics were called to McCready's Nashville home after an apparent suicide attempt; they transported her to a hospital after finding wounds on her wrists.
In 2009, she joined the cast of Celebrity Rehab 3 with Dr. Drew Pinsky.
On May 25, 2010, McCready was hospitalized in Cape Coral, Florida, for a possible drug overdose; she may have had a reaction to Darvocet her mother had given her. She was released later that day and returned home.
A pornographic videotape of McCready and an ex-boyfriend referred to as "Peter" went on sale by Vivid Entertainment in 2010.
In April 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, a son named Zayne. The child's father, record producer David Wilson, was found dead on January 13, 2013, at McCready's home, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Cleburne County, Arkansas, sheriff's department opened an investigation into Wilson's death. Following Wilson's death, McCready released a statement in which she referred to him as her "soulmate" and "life partner".
Roger Clemens affair
In April 2008, the New York Daily News reported a possible long-term relationship between McCready and baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was 15. Clemens' attorney Rusty Hardin denied the affair, stating that Clemens would bring a defamation suit regarding this false allegation. Clemens' attorney admitted that a relationship existed but described McCready as a "close family friend". He also stated that McCready had traveled on Clemens' personal jet and that Clemens' wife was aware of the relationship. Clemens issued a statement saying only, "I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry." McCready described the relationship as being sexual in nature.
On November 17, 2008, McCready spoke in more detail to Inside Edition about her affair with Clemens. She stated that their relationship lasted for more than a decade, ending when Clemens refused to leave his wife to marry McCready. She was 16 when they first met, she said, adding that the relationship didn't become sexual "until several years later".
Legal issues
In August 2004, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for using a fake prescription to buy the painkiller OxyContin. Although she initially denied the charge, she pleaded guilty and was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years of probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
In May 2005, McCready was stopped by Nashville police for speeding, then arrested and charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. A jury later found her not guilty on the charges of DUI but guilty of driving with a suspended license. That July, she was charged in Arizona with identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment, and hindering prosecution. An arrest warrant was issued for her the following month for violation of her probation when she left Tennessee without her probation officer's permission. She was also charged with not reporting to her probation officer during July. She was finally arrested in Florida and returned to Tennessee. She faced a hearing later that year on charges of violating her probation on a drug charge by failing to check in with her probation officer and leaving the state without permission to go to Florida.
In July 2007, McCready was arrested in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, and charged with battery and resisting arrest for an apparent scuffle with her mother. The following week, she was taken into custody at the Nashville International Airport for violating probation. In September, McCready was sentenced to a year in jail for violating probation. In addition to the jail time, she was ordered to serve two more years of probation and perform 200 additional hours of community service. She was released from jail in December.
In June 2008, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for violating the terms of her probation set in September 2007. Sentenced to 60 days in jail, McCready turned herself in on September 30, 2008. After serving half of her sentence, she was released early for good behavior on October 30, 2008.
McCready was associated with and allegedly victimized by con man Jonathan Roda. The case was featured on television's I (Almost) Got Away with It.
Death
On February 17, 2013, McCready's neighbors called the Sheriff's Office of Cleburne County, Arkansas, reporting gunshots. McCready was found dead on her front porch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the same place where David Wilson, her former boyfriend and the father of her younger son, had fatally shot himself one month prior. She was 37 years old. References say that she also shot and killed Wilson's pet dog before her suicide. McCready is interred at Alva Cemetery in Alva, Florida.
Discography
Albums
Ten Thousand Angels (1996)
If I Don't Stay the Night (1997)
I'm Not So Tough (1999)
Mindy McCready (2002)
I'm Still Here (2010)
References
External links
[ Mindy McCready] at AllMusic
1975 births
2013 suicides
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
American country singer-songwriters
American women country singers
BNA Records artists
Burials in Florida
Capitol Records artists
Country musicians from Florida
Country musicians from Tennessee
Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
Participants in American reality television series
People from Fort Myers, Florida
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Suicides by firearm in Arkansas
People from Heber Springs, Arkansas
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Country musicians from Arkansas | true | [
"The discography of Pam Tillis, an American country music singer, consists of 13 studio albums and 45 singles. Her first release, Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey in 1983, did not produce any major hits. Between 1990 and 2001, she recorded for Arista Nashville, achieving two gold albums and three platinum albums. 33 of her singles for Arista, plus a cut for the soundtrack to Happy, Texas, all made the Hot Country Songs in that timespan. Her only number one was \"Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)\", although twelve other songs reached the top 10 on the same chart.\n\nStudio albums\n\n1980s–1990s\n\n2000s–2020s\n\nCompilation albums\n\nSingles\n\n1980s–1990s\n\n2000s–2020s\n\nAs a featured artist\n\nOther album appearances\n\nMusic videos\n\nGuest appearances\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nCountry music discographies\n \n \nDiscographies of American artists",
"From the Bitter to the Sweet is the latest release by Canadian singer Luba. A primarily solo work on her own label and her first in more than a decade, it did not produce as many sales or as much radio airplay as her previous albums. These songs are much more subdued than in earlier works, possibly due to her recent hard times. However, the album still won some critical acclaim. Featured singles include \"Sorry,\" \"Is She a Lot Like Me\" and \"Let Me Be the One.\"\n\nTrack listing\nSorry – 5:05\nIs She a Lot Like Me – 4:26\nLet Me Be the One – 4:50\nAll Over Again – 4:51\nSooner Than Soon - 4:40\nHow Can I Trust You Now - 4:53\nInside Out - 4:22\nFrom the Bitter to the Sweet - 4:41\nI Am What I Am - 3:59\nWhat Would It Take - 5:45\nAnything At All - 2:39\n\nPersonnel\n Luba: vocals, acoustic guitar\n Rick Haworth: electric guitar, octave mandolin\n Norman DiBlasio: piano, keyboards, drum programming\n Kevin DeSouza: bass\n Eric Lange: drums, percussion\n Don Meunier: classical and acoustic guitar\n Ligia Paquin: viola\n François Pilon: violin\n Sheila Hannigan: cello\n\nAdditional musicians\n Andrew Creegan: percussion, dulcimer on \"Let Me Be the One\"\n Pat Sheehan: acoustic and electric Guitars on \"From the Bitter to the Sweet\"\n Borza Ghomeshi: electric guitar on \"I Am What I Am\"\n\nReferences\n The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music. Luba: Credits. Retrieved Apr. 19, 2007.\n\nExternal links\n Official Luba website\n Luba at canoe.ca\n Luba on MySpace\n\n2000 albums\nLuba (singer) albums"
]
|
[
"Mindy McCready",
"Music",
"What is a name of one of her albums?",
"In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough.",
"Did she have success as a musician?",
"debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles",
"What other albums did she produce?",
"The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night."
]
| C_c5ddad52af244eeb80bab77fd77895a7_1 | Did she win any awards? | 4 | Did Mindy McCready win any awards? | Mindy McCready | Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age three, and graduated from high school at the age of 16 with the intention of beginning her music career early. When she was 18, she moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time." This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)," peaked at No. 4. The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do," "The Other Side of This Kiss," and "You'll Never Know." The album sold 825,000 copies. In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything," failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year. In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA Records and was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA, while 1997's If I Don't Stay the Night was certified Gold. 1999's I'm Not So Tough, her final album for BNA, was less successful, and she left the label. A self-titled fourth album followed in 2002 on Capitol Records. McCready's fifth and final studio album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010 on Iconic Records.
McCready's first four studio albums yielded twelve singles on the Billboard country singles charts. This figure includes the 1 hit "Guys Do It All the Time", as well as the Top 10 hits "Ten Thousand Angels" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)".
Although she had not charted a single since 2002, McCready received significant media coverage regarding her troubled personal life and suicide attempts and her eventual death by suicide.
Career
Music
Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age 3 and graduated from high school at the age of 16 to begin her music career early.
When she was 18, McCready moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time". This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now", a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)", peaked at No. 4.
The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do", "The Other Side of This Kiss", and "You'll Never Know". The album sold 825,000 copies.
In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything", failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year.
In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010.
On February 18, 2013, the day after McCready's death, her final song, "I'll See You Yesterday" was released.
Reality television
In June 2009, McCready signed on to appear on the reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The series aired and depicted her struggle with substance addiction. She later discussed her recovery and possible studio work with Todd Gaither on a March 2010 episode of The View.
In mid-2011, McCready appeared on Celebrity Close Calls and Celebrity Ghost Stories series 3 episode 6. She also appeared on the December 9, 2011 episode of 20/20, where she discussed her son Zander, her producer boyfriend David Wilson, and new music.
Personal life
In 1997, McCready became engaged to actor Dean Cain. The couple broke up the following year. McCready also dated former NHL hockey player Drake Berehowsky.
In December 2003, she began dating aspiring singer William Patrick "Billy" McKnight. On May 8, 2005, McKnight was arrested and charged with attempted murder after beating and choking her. After reporting to People magazine that she had cut ties with McKnight, McCready was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, after attempting suicide in July 2005. She was hospitalized for a drug overdose after consuming a large amount of undisclosed drugs with alcohol. The couple eventually got back together and McCready became pregnant. In September 2005, while she was pregnant with McKnight's child, she attempted suicide again by overdosing on antidepressants. In March 2006, McCready gave birth to a son, Zander Ryan McCready.
On December 17, 2008, paramedics were called to McCready's Nashville home after an apparent suicide attempt; they transported her to a hospital after finding wounds on her wrists.
In 2009, she joined the cast of Celebrity Rehab 3 with Dr. Drew Pinsky.
On May 25, 2010, McCready was hospitalized in Cape Coral, Florida, for a possible drug overdose; she may have had a reaction to Darvocet her mother had given her. She was released later that day and returned home.
A pornographic videotape of McCready and an ex-boyfriend referred to as "Peter" went on sale by Vivid Entertainment in 2010.
In April 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, a son named Zayne. The child's father, record producer David Wilson, was found dead on January 13, 2013, at McCready's home, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Cleburne County, Arkansas, sheriff's department opened an investigation into Wilson's death. Following Wilson's death, McCready released a statement in which she referred to him as her "soulmate" and "life partner".
Roger Clemens affair
In April 2008, the New York Daily News reported a possible long-term relationship between McCready and baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was 15. Clemens' attorney Rusty Hardin denied the affair, stating that Clemens would bring a defamation suit regarding this false allegation. Clemens' attorney admitted that a relationship existed but described McCready as a "close family friend". He also stated that McCready had traveled on Clemens' personal jet and that Clemens' wife was aware of the relationship. Clemens issued a statement saying only, "I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry." McCready described the relationship as being sexual in nature.
On November 17, 2008, McCready spoke in more detail to Inside Edition about her affair with Clemens. She stated that their relationship lasted for more than a decade, ending when Clemens refused to leave his wife to marry McCready. She was 16 when they first met, she said, adding that the relationship didn't become sexual "until several years later".
Legal issues
In August 2004, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for using a fake prescription to buy the painkiller OxyContin. Although she initially denied the charge, she pleaded guilty and was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years of probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
In May 2005, McCready was stopped by Nashville police for speeding, then arrested and charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. A jury later found her not guilty on the charges of DUI but guilty of driving with a suspended license. That July, she was charged in Arizona with identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment, and hindering prosecution. An arrest warrant was issued for her the following month for violation of her probation when she left Tennessee without her probation officer's permission. She was also charged with not reporting to her probation officer during July. She was finally arrested in Florida and returned to Tennessee. She faced a hearing later that year on charges of violating her probation on a drug charge by failing to check in with her probation officer and leaving the state without permission to go to Florida.
In July 2007, McCready was arrested in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, and charged with battery and resisting arrest for an apparent scuffle with her mother. The following week, she was taken into custody at the Nashville International Airport for violating probation. In September, McCready was sentenced to a year in jail for violating probation. In addition to the jail time, she was ordered to serve two more years of probation and perform 200 additional hours of community service. She was released from jail in December.
In June 2008, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for violating the terms of her probation set in September 2007. Sentenced to 60 days in jail, McCready turned herself in on September 30, 2008. After serving half of her sentence, she was released early for good behavior on October 30, 2008.
McCready was associated with and allegedly victimized by con man Jonathan Roda. The case was featured on television's I (Almost) Got Away with It.
Death
On February 17, 2013, McCready's neighbors called the Sheriff's Office of Cleburne County, Arkansas, reporting gunshots. McCready was found dead on her front porch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the same place where David Wilson, her former boyfriend and the father of her younger son, had fatally shot himself one month prior. She was 37 years old. References say that she also shot and killed Wilson's pet dog before her suicide. McCready is interred at Alva Cemetery in Alva, Florida.
Discography
Albums
Ten Thousand Angels (1996)
If I Don't Stay the Night (1997)
I'm Not So Tough (1999)
Mindy McCready (2002)
I'm Still Here (2010)
References
External links
[ Mindy McCready] at AllMusic
1975 births
2013 suicides
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
American country singer-songwriters
American women country singers
BNA Records artists
Burials in Florida
Capitol Records artists
Country musicians from Florida
Country musicians from Tennessee
Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
Participants in American reality television series
People from Fort Myers, Florida
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Suicides by firearm in Arkansas
People from Heber Springs, Arkansas
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Country musicians from Arkansas | false | [
"Nena Danevic is a film editor who was nominated at the 57th Academy Awards for Best Film Editing. She was nominated for Amadeus. She shared her nomination with Michael Chandler.\n\nShe did win at the 39th British Academy Film Awards for Best Editing. Also for Amadeus with Michael Chandler.\n\nShe also won at the American Cinema Editors awards.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nBest Editing BAFTA Award winners\nFilm editors\nPossibly living people\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"Sheena Napier is a British costume designer who was nominated at the 65th Academy Awards for her work on the film Enchanted April, for which she was nominated for Best Costumes.\n\nIn addition she did win at the BAFTA Television Awards for the TV film Parade's End, which she was also nominated for an Emmy for.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nBritish costume designers\nLiving people\nBAFTA winners (people)\nWomen costume designers\nYear of birth missing (living people)"
]
|
[
"Mindy McCready",
"Music",
"What is a name of one of her albums?",
"In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough.",
"Did she have success as a musician?",
"debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles",
"What other albums did she produce?",
"The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night.",
"Did she win any awards?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_c5ddad52af244eeb80bab77fd77895a7_1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 5 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article aside from the names of Mindy McCready's albums? | Mindy McCready | Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age three, and graduated from high school at the age of 16 with the intention of beginning her music career early. When she was 18, she moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time." This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)," peaked at No. 4. The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do," "The Other Side of This Kiss," and "You'll Never Know." The album sold 825,000 copies. In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything," failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year. In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010. CANNOTANSWER | McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age three, and graduated from high school at the age of 16 with the intention of beginning her music career | Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA Records and was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA, while 1997's If I Don't Stay the Night was certified Gold. 1999's I'm Not So Tough, her final album for BNA, was less successful, and she left the label. A self-titled fourth album followed in 2002 on Capitol Records. McCready's fifth and final studio album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010 on Iconic Records.
McCready's first four studio albums yielded twelve singles on the Billboard country singles charts. This figure includes the 1 hit "Guys Do It All the Time", as well as the Top 10 hits "Ten Thousand Angels" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)".
Although she had not charted a single since 2002, McCready received significant media coverage regarding her troubled personal life and suicide attempts and her eventual death by suicide.
Career
Music
Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age 3 and graduated from high school at the age of 16 to begin her music career early.
When she was 18, McCready moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time". This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now", a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)", peaked at No. 4.
The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do", "The Other Side of This Kiss", and "You'll Never Know". The album sold 825,000 copies.
In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything", failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year.
In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010.
On February 18, 2013, the day after McCready's death, her final song, "I'll See You Yesterday" was released.
Reality television
In June 2009, McCready signed on to appear on the reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The series aired and depicted her struggle with substance addiction. She later discussed her recovery and possible studio work with Todd Gaither on a March 2010 episode of The View.
In mid-2011, McCready appeared on Celebrity Close Calls and Celebrity Ghost Stories series 3 episode 6. She also appeared on the December 9, 2011 episode of 20/20, where she discussed her son Zander, her producer boyfriend David Wilson, and new music.
Personal life
In 1997, McCready became engaged to actor Dean Cain. The couple broke up the following year. McCready also dated former NHL hockey player Drake Berehowsky.
In December 2003, she began dating aspiring singer William Patrick "Billy" McKnight. On May 8, 2005, McKnight was arrested and charged with attempted murder after beating and choking her. After reporting to People magazine that she had cut ties with McKnight, McCready was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, after attempting suicide in July 2005. She was hospitalized for a drug overdose after consuming a large amount of undisclosed drugs with alcohol. The couple eventually got back together and McCready became pregnant. In September 2005, while she was pregnant with McKnight's child, she attempted suicide again by overdosing on antidepressants. In March 2006, McCready gave birth to a son, Zander Ryan McCready.
On December 17, 2008, paramedics were called to McCready's Nashville home after an apparent suicide attempt; they transported her to a hospital after finding wounds on her wrists.
In 2009, she joined the cast of Celebrity Rehab 3 with Dr. Drew Pinsky.
On May 25, 2010, McCready was hospitalized in Cape Coral, Florida, for a possible drug overdose; she may have had a reaction to Darvocet her mother had given her. She was released later that day and returned home.
A pornographic videotape of McCready and an ex-boyfriend referred to as "Peter" went on sale by Vivid Entertainment in 2010.
In April 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, a son named Zayne. The child's father, record producer David Wilson, was found dead on January 13, 2013, at McCready's home, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Cleburne County, Arkansas, sheriff's department opened an investigation into Wilson's death. Following Wilson's death, McCready released a statement in which she referred to him as her "soulmate" and "life partner".
Roger Clemens affair
In April 2008, the New York Daily News reported a possible long-term relationship between McCready and baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was 15. Clemens' attorney Rusty Hardin denied the affair, stating that Clemens would bring a defamation suit regarding this false allegation. Clemens' attorney admitted that a relationship existed but described McCready as a "close family friend". He also stated that McCready had traveled on Clemens' personal jet and that Clemens' wife was aware of the relationship. Clemens issued a statement saying only, "I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry." McCready described the relationship as being sexual in nature.
On November 17, 2008, McCready spoke in more detail to Inside Edition about her affair with Clemens. She stated that their relationship lasted for more than a decade, ending when Clemens refused to leave his wife to marry McCready. She was 16 when they first met, she said, adding that the relationship didn't become sexual "until several years later".
Legal issues
In August 2004, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for using a fake prescription to buy the painkiller OxyContin. Although she initially denied the charge, she pleaded guilty and was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years of probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
In May 2005, McCready was stopped by Nashville police for speeding, then arrested and charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. A jury later found her not guilty on the charges of DUI but guilty of driving with a suspended license. That July, she was charged in Arizona with identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment, and hindering prosecution. An arrest warrant was issued for her the following month for violation of her probation when she left Tennessee without her probation officer's permission. She was also charged with not reporting to her probation officer during July. She was finally arrested in Florida and returned to Tennessee. She faced a hearing later that year on charges of violating her probation on a drug charge by failing to check in with her probation officer and leaving the state without permission to go to Florida.
In July 2007, McCready was arrested in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, and charged with battery and resisting arrest for an apparent scuffle with her mother. The following week, she was taken into custody at the Nashville International Airport for violating probation. In September, McCready was sentenced to a year in jail for violating probation. In addition to the jail time, she was ordered to serve two more years of probation and perform 200 additional hours of community service. She was released from jail in December.
In June 2008, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for violating the terms of her probation set in September 2007. Sentenced to 60 days in jail, McCready turned herself in on September 30, 2008. After serving half of her sentence, she was released early for good behavior on October 30, 2008.
McCready was associated with and allegedly victimized by con man Jonathan Roda. The case was featured on television's I (Almost) Got Away with It.
Death
On February 17, 2013, McCready's neighbors called the Sheriff's Office of Cleburne County, Arkansas, reporting gunshots. McCready was found dead on her front porch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the same place where David Wilson, her former boyfriend and the father of her younger son, had fatally shot himself one month prior. She was 37 years old. References say that she also shot and killed Wilson's pet dog before her suicide. McCready is interred at Alva Cemetery in Alva, Florida.
Discography
Albums
Ten Thousand Angels (1996)
If I Don't Stay the Night (1997)
I'm Not So Tough (1999)
Mindy McCready (2002)
I'm Still Here (2010)
References
External links
[ Mindy McCready] at AllMusic
1975 births
2013 suicides
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
American country singer-songwriters
American women country singers
BNA Records artists
Burials in Florida
Capitol Records artists
Country musicians from Florida
Country musicians from Tennessee
Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
Participants in American reality television series
People from Fort Myers, Florida
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Suicides by firearm in Arkansas
People from Heber Springs, Arkansas
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Country musicians from Arkansas | 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"
]
|
[
"Mindy McCready",
"Music",
"What is a name of one of her albums?",
"In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough.",
"Did she have success as a musician?",
"debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles",
"What other albums did she produce?",
"The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night.",
"Did she win any awards?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age three, and graduated from high school at the age of 16 with the intention of beginning her music career"
]
| C_c5ddad52af244eeb80bab77fd77895a7_1 | Did she find success easily? | 6 | Did Mindy McCready find success easily? | Mindy McCready | Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age three, and graduated from high school at the age of 16 with the intention of beginning her music career early. When she was 18, she moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time." This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)," peaked at No. 4. The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do," "The Other Side of This Kiss," and "You'll Never Know." The album sold 825,000 copies. In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything," failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year. In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA Records and was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA, while 1997's If I Don't Stay the Night was certified Gold. 1999's I'm Not So Tough, her final album for BNA, was less successful, and she left the label. A self-titled fourth album followed in 2002 on Capitol Records. McCready's fifth and final studio album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010 on Iconic Records.
McCready's first four studio albums yielded twelve singles on the Billboard country singles charts. This figure includes the 1 hit "Guys Do It All the Time", as well as the Top 10 hits "Ten Thousand Angels" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)".
Although she had not charted a single since 2002, McCready received significant media coverage regarding her troubled personal life and suicide attempts and her eventual death by suicide.
Career
Music
Born Malinda Gayle McCready in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready began singing in her local Pentecostal church at age 3 and graduated from high school at the age of 16 to begin her music career early.
When she was 18, McCready moved to Nashville, where she was signed by BNA Records. Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, was released in 1996 and sold two million copies. The album produced four chart singles on the country charts: the title track at No. 6, followed by her first and only Number One hit, "Guys Do It All the Time". This song, in turn, was succeeded by "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now", a duet with Richie McDonald, then the lead vocalist of Lonestar. The fourth and final single, "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)", peaked at No. 4.
The next year, McCready released the album If I Don't Stay the Night. The album spawned three singles, "What If I Do", "The Other Side of This Kiss", and "You'll Never Know". The album sold 825,000 copies.
In 1999, McCready released I'm Not So Tough. The first single, "All I Want Is Everything", failed to break the top 50. The album was a commercial failure, selling 144,000 copies. Soon after, McCready's record company dropped her. McCready was then signed by Capitol Records. She released her self-titled album with Capitol in 2002 to disappointing sales and was dropped by Capitol later that year.
In May 2008, McCready released the single "I'm Still Here" via her official website. She also announced that she had been working on a documentary, a new album, and a reality show. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010.
On February 18, 2013, the day after McCready's death, her final song, "I'll See You Yesterday" was released.
Reality television
In June 2009, McCready signed on to appear on the reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The series aired and depicted her struggle with substance addiction. She later discussed her recovery and possible studio work with Todd Gaither on a March 2010 episode of The View.
In mid-2011, McCready appeared on Celebrity Close Calls and Celebrity Ghost Stories series 3 episode 6. She also appeared on the December 9, 2011 episode of 20/20, where she discussed her son Zander, her producer boyfriend David Wilson, and new music.
Personal life
In 1997, McCready became engaged to actor Dean Cain. The couple broke up the following year. McCready also dated former NHL hockey player Drake Berehowsky.
In December 2003, she began dating aspiring singer William Patrick "Billy" McKnight. On May 8, 2005, McKnight was arrested and charged with attempted murder after beating and choking her. After reporting to People magazine that she had cut ties with McKnight, McCready was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, after attempting suicide in July 2005. She was hospitalized for a drug overdose after consuming a large amount of undisclosed drugs with alcohol. The couple eventually got back together and McCready became pregnant. In September 2005, while she was pregnant with McKnight's child, she attempted suicide again by overdosing on antidepressants. In March 2006, McCready gave birth to a son, Zander Ryan McCready.
On December 17, 2008, paramedics were called to McCready's Nashville home after an apparent suicide attempt; they transported her to a hospital after finding wounds on her wrists.
In 2009, she joined the cast of Celebrity Rehab 3 with Dr. Drew Pinsky.
On May 25, 2010, McCready was hospitalized in Cape Coral, Florida, for a possible drug overdose; she may have had a reaction to Darvocet her mother had given her. She was released later that day and returned home.
A pornographic videotape of McCready and an ex-boyfriend referred to as "Peter" went on sale by Vivid Entertainment in 2010.
In April 2012, McCready gave birth to her second child, a son named Zayne. The child's father, record producer David Wilson, was found dead on January 13, 2013, at McCready's home, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Cleburne County, Arkansas, sheriff's department opened an investigation into Wilson's death. Following Wilson's death, McCready released a statement in which she referred to him as her "soulmate" and "life partner".
Roger Clemens affair
In April 2008, the New York Daily News reported a possible long-term relationship between McCready and baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was 15. Clemens' attorney Rusty Hardin denied the affair, stating that Clemens would bring a defamation suit regarding this false allegation. Clemens' attorney admitted that a relationship existed but described McCready as a "close family friend". He also stated that McCready had traveled on Clemens' personal jet and that Clemens' wife was aware of the relationship. Clemens issued a statement saying only, "I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry." McCready described the relationship as being sexual in nature.
On November 17, 2008, McCready spoke in more detail to Inside Edition about her affair with Clemens. She stated that their relationship lasted for more than a decade, ending when Clemens refused to leave his wife to marry McCready. She was 16 when they first met, she said, adding that the relationship didn't become sexual "until several years later".
Legal issues
In August 2004, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for using a fake prescription to buy the painkiller OxyContin. Although she initially denied the charge, she pleaded guilty and was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years of probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
In May 2005, McCready was stopped by Nashville police for speeding, then arrested and charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. A jury later found her not guilty on the charges of DUI but guilty of driving with a suspended license. That July, she was charged in Arizona with identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment, and hindering prosecution. An arrest warrant was issued for her the following month for violation of her probation when she left Tennessee without her probation officer's permission. She was also charged with not reporting to her probation officer during July. She was finally arrested in Florida and returned to Tennessee. She faced a hearing later that year on charges of violating her probation on a drug charge by failing to check in with her probation officer and leaving the state without permission to go to Florida.
In July 2007, McCready was arrested in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, and charged with battery and resisting arrest for an apparent scuffle with her mother. The following week, she was taken into custody at the Nashville International Airport for violating probation. In September, McCready was sentenced to a year in jail for violating probation. In addition to the jail time, she was ordered to serve two more years of probation and perform 200 additional hours of community service. She was released from jail in December.
In June 2008, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for violating the terms of her probation set in September 2007. Sentenced to 60 days in jail, McCready turned herself in on September 30, 2008. After serving half of her sentence, she was released early for good behavior on October 30, 2008.
McCready was associated with and allegedly victimized by con man Jonathan Roda. The case was featured on television's I (Almost) Got Away with It.
Death
On February 17, 2013, McCready's neighbors called the Sheriff's Office of Cleburne County, Arkansas, reporting gunshots. McCready was found dead on her front porch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the same place where David Wilson, her former boyfriend and the father of her younger son, had fatally shot himself one month prior. She was 37 years old. References say that she also shot and killed Wilson's pet dog before her suicide. McCready is interred at Alva Cemetery in Alva, Florida.
Discography
Albums
Ten Thousand Angels (1996)
If I Don't Stay the Night (1997)
I'm Not So Tough (1999)
Mindy McCready (2002)
I'm Still Here (2010)
References
External links
[ Mindy McCready] at AllMusic
1975 births
2013 suicides
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
American country singer-songwriters
American women country singers
BNA Records artists
Burials in Florida
Capitol Records artists
Country musicians from Florida
Country musicians from Tennessee
Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
Participants in American reality television series
People from Fort Myers, Florida
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Suicides by firearm in Arkansas
People from Heber Springs, Arkansas
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Country musicians from Arkansas | false | [
"Mary Knight Dunlap (1910–1992) founded the Association of Women Veterinarians in 1947.\n\nDunlap was from Baltimore, Maryland. In 1926, she began a four-year degree in veterinary medicine at Colorado A&M; however, she dropped out after her second year. She continued to pursue her interest in veterinary medicine and wrote abstracts and reports of meetings for the North American Veterinarian and other publications.<ref name=\"MKDunlapBio\">{{cite web |url=http://www.womenveterinarians.org/Main.aspx |title=Mary Knight Dunlap (MSU-33) |work=Our History of Women in Veterinary Medicine |publisher=Association of Women Veterinarians Foundation |accessdate=25 July 2013}} </ref>\n \nIn 1947, Dunlap founded the Women's Veterinary Medical Association, now known as the Association of Women Veterinarians Foundation. She wrote, \"through our organization we should offer guidance and help where it is needed, so that others will avoid our mistakes and most easily find happiness and success.\"\n\nDunlap edited and contributed to Dr. Joseph Arburua's book, Narrative of Veterinary Medicine in California''. She worked in the toxicology department of the University of California, San Francisco College of Medicine until poor health led to her resignation.\n\nReferences\n\n1910 births\n1992 deaths\nAmerican veterinarians\nColorado State University alumni\nUniversity of California, San Francisco faculty",
"Maud Edith Eleanor Watson, MBE (9 October 1864 – 5 June 1946) was a British professional tennis player and the first female Wimbledon champion.\n\nBiography\nBorn in Harrow, London, the daughter of a local vicar Henry William and Emily Frances Watson. She learned to play tennis in the garden with her sister and did not find it difficult because she had already played squash racquets. At the age of sixteen Watson played her first match at the Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club. It was a successful debut, winning the singles competition by defeating her sister Lillian in the final and winning the doubles competition with her.\n\nIn 1884 Watson participated in the Irish Ladies' Championship and defeated the reigning Irish champion May Langrishe 6–3, 6–2, 6–2. She was also victorious in the mixed doubles tournament winning the title with multiple Wimbledon champion William Renshaw. Undefeated in tournament play, in 1884 the nineteen-year-old Watson won the first-ever Ladies' Singles title at Wimbledon. Playing in white corsets and petticoats, from a field of thirteen competitors, she defeated Lilian 6–8, 6–3, 6–3 in the final to claim the title and a silver flower basket valued at 20 guineas. \n\n1885 was a year of great success for Watson, who remained unbeaten in singles and lost only one set. She repeated her success at the 1885 Wimbledon championships. In a field of just 10 entries she easily won the quarter- and semi-finals and in the final defeated Blanche Bingley 6–1, 7–5. She successfully defended her title at the 1885 Irish Championships against Louise Martin. For two sets, there was little to choose between them, but in the decider, Watson outlasted her opponent to win 6–2, 4–6, 6–3. In 1886, the year the Challenge Round was introduced for women, Bingley turned the tables, defeating Watson 6–3, 6–3 in the final to take the title.\n\nIn 1887 and 1888 Watson, was handicapped by a sprained wrist, symptoms of such amplified with time. Her final competition came at the Edgbaston tournament in June 1889. She entered three events (doubles, mixed doubles and handicap singles) and won them all. While on holiday in Jersey she went swimming off the coast and nearly drowned. She was rescued with difficulty and suffered an illness afterwards which she took a number of years to recover completely from.\n\nMaud Watson worked as a nurse during the First World War for which she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. \n\nWatson, who did not marry, died on 5 June 1946, aged 81, at Hammonds Mead House in Charmouth.\n\nGrand Slam finals\n\nSingles (2 titles, 1 runner-up)\n\nReferences\n\n1864 births\n1946 deaths\n19th-century English people\n19th-century female tennis players\nEnglish female tennis players\nPeople from Harrow, London\nPeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull\nPeople from West Dorset District\nSportspeople from London\n\nWimbledon champions (pre-Open Era)\nMembers of the Order of the British Empire\nGrand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles\nBritish female tennis players\nTennis people from Greater London\nBritish people of World War I"
]
|
[
"Bob Hayes",
"Olympics"
]
| C_d5def122dd814ca0aa2e90b30bbd893f_0 | When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics? | 1 | When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics? | Bob Hayes | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21. In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976). Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968. CANNOTANSWER | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, | Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash (with a time of 6.9 seconds). He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash.
He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Early years
Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida High School Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of racial segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, until 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) history.
College career
Hayes was a highly recruited athlete, and accepted a football scholarship from Florida A&M University, a historically black college, where he excelled in track and field.
He never lost a race in the 100-yard or 100-meter competitions, but mainstream schools of the area still did not invite him to their sanctioned meets. In 1962 the University of Miami invited him to a meet on their campus, where he tied the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash, which had been set by Frank Budd of Villanova University the previous year. He also was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds.
In 1963, although he never used a traditional sprinter form, he broke the 100-yard dash record with a time of 9.1, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974). That same year, Hayes set the world best for 200 meters (20.5 seconds, although the time was never ratified) and ran the 220-yard dash in a time of 20.6 seconds (while running into an eight mph wind). He was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His football coach Jake Gaither was not very high on giving Hayes time to train, which caused then president Lyndon B. Johnson to call him and insist he allow Hayes time off and to keep him healthy.
He was the AAU 100-yard dash champion three years running, from 1962–1964, and in 1964 was the NCAA champion in the 200-meter dash. He missed part of his senior year because of his Olympic bid for the gold medal.
In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds).
His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21.
In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind-legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976).
Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.
Professional football career
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. He was also selected by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round (105th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft, with a future selection. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.
Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, both against the Packers. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker Dave Robinson, which resulted in Don Meredith nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Tom Brown. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.
On July 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-Duke Fergerson).
Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by running back Emmitt Smith and retired by the team at the end of Smith's career.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1975 with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayes teamed up with Gene Washington in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for wide receiver Terry Beasley.
Multiple offensive threat
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as an erstwhile decoy rather than a deep threat.
Cowboy records
Hayes was the second player (after Franklin Clarke) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1965 he also started a streak (1965–1966) of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Terrell Owens (2007) and Dez Bryant (2012).
His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class
Death
On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2004 controversy
Hayes was close to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' legal and drug use issues marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall. Zimmerman eventually returned as a Hall of Fame voter.
2009 induction
On August 27, 2008, Hayes was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. On Saturday, January 31, 2009, he was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
The next day Lucille Hester, who claimed to be Hayes's sister, released a letter she said he had drafted three years before he died, on October 29, 1999, in case he did not live to see his induction. Its full text read:
You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49rs too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Stauback and tell all my teammates I love them dearly.
Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Mathew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.
I love you all.
Delivered by Hester in front of hundreds and a national cable television audience, the moment was described as "... one of the most compelling and touching scenes the Hall of Fame has seen." Shortly after, it was discovered that the supposedly signed letter was printed in the Calibri font, which was not released to the public until five years after Hayes' death. Some family members disputed Lucille Hester's claim to be related to Bob, and took steps to ensure she was not part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
On August 8, 2009, Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Staubach, Hayes' Dallas Cowboy teammate, along with Hayes' son Bob Hayes Jr., unveiled the bust, which was sculpted by Scott Myers. On hand were six members of Bob's Gilbert High School championship team. He was later inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.
References
Further reading
Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books.
External links
1942 births
2002 deaths
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Dallas Cowboys players
San Francisco 49ers players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Florida A&M Rattlers football players
Florida A&M Rattlers track and field athletes
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Track and field athletes from Florida
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"The men's 4 × 100 metres relay was the shorter of the two men's relays on the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 20 October and 21 October 1964. 21 teams, for a total of 85 athletes, from 21 nations competed, with 1 team of 4 not starting in the first round. The first round and the semifinals were held on 20 October with the final on 21 October.\n\nThe traditionally strong American team was weakened by the injuries to Mel Pender and Trent Jackson. The defending champions United Team of Germany (with no returning members) failed to get out of the semi-finals.\n\nThe final began with Andrzej Zieliński out fast, making up the stagger on American substitute Paul Drayton on his outside. The Poles exchanged smoothly and their 4th place runner from the finals Wieslaw Maniak held a foot advantage on (plus the stagger) on Gerry Ashworth. Inside of them, France and Jamaica were making strong showings. Claude Piquemal put France into the lead through the turn with Jamaica, USSR and Poland all ahead when \nsubstitute Richard Stebbins handed off to Bob Hayes 3 meters behind France's Jocelyn Delecour. But Hayes was running in another gear, tearing down the track, making up the gap halfway down the straightaway then pulling away to a clear American victory and new world record. 3 meters behind Hayes, Poland's Marian Dudziak was able to out lean Delecour for silver. The United States' Bob Hayes ran the final 100m of the relay in a record 8.60 seconds. This remains the fastest anchor leg of all time.\n\nDelecour famously said to Drayton before the relay final that, \"You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes.\" Drayton was able to reply afterwards, \"That's all we need.\"\n\nResults\n\nFirst round\n\nThe top four teams in each of the 3 heats as well as the four fastest remaining team advanced.\n\nFirst round, heat 1\n\nFirst round, heat 2\n\nFirst round, heat 3\n\nSemifinals\n\nThe top four teams in each of the two semifinals advanced to the final.\n\nSemifinal 1\n\nOkorafor took Amu's place for Nigeria.\n\nThe American team tied the old Olympic record at 39.5 seconds.\n\nSemifinal 2\n\nFinal\n\nVenezuela and Italy tied the old Olympic record. The United States, Poland, France, Jamaica, and the Soviet Union all broke it, with the U.S. also breaking the world record. The United States' Bob Hayes ran the final 100m of the relay in a record setting 8.60 seconds, passing three teams and bringing the U.S. from 4th to 1st place. This remains the fastest anchor leg of all time.\n\nReferences\n\n Official Report\n\nAthletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics\nRelay foot races at the Olympics\n4 × 100 metres relay\nMen's events at the 1964 Summer Olympics",
"Patrick \"Pat\" Michael Hayes (October 26, 1942 - May 2, 2011) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1987, and again from 1990 to 1995.\n\nBackground\nHayes was born in Maidstone Township, Ontario. He was the 13th child in a family of 18 children. He did not complete high school, instead he got a job at Ford Motors. Hayes reflected on his early life choices. He said, \"When I was a teenager it was one of those cases where if you wanted a new pair of pants, or shoes, you had to go to work for them.\"\nBy the time he was 25 he was plant health and safety representative for the Canadian Auto Workers. He lived in Essex County, Ontario where he and his wife Rose Claire raised five children.\n\nProvincial politics\nHayes was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election, defeating Liberal candidate Jack Morris by about 1,300 votes in Essex North. He served as the NDP critic for Transportation and Communications, Tourism and Recreation, and Agriculture in the parliament that followed.\n\nThe Liberals won a landslide majority in the 1987 provincial election, and Hayes his seat lost to Liberal MPP Jim McGuigan, by 1,113 votes in the redistributed riding of Essex—Kent. He ran against McGuigan again in the 1990 election, this time defeating him by 5,890 votes amid a provincial victory for the NDP under Bob Rae. He served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Food from 1990 to 1993, and to the Minister of Municipal Affairs from 1993 to 1995.\n\nIn 1994, Hayes was one of twelve NDP members to vote against Bill 167, a bill extending financial benefits to same-sex partners. Premier Bob Rae allowed a free vote on the bill which allowed members of his party to vote with their conscience. By the 2003 campaign, he had changed his mind on this issue.\n\nThe NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Hayes finished third, 2,293 votes behind the winning candidate, Liberal Pat Hoy. He sought a return to the legislature in the 2003 provincial election, but, although he was generally seen as a strong candidate, he lost to Liberal incumbent Bruce Crozier by about 8,000 votes in the riding of Essex.\n\nMunicipal politics\nHayes was mayor of Lakeshore, Ontario from 1997 to 2003, and was generally regarded as a popular figure within that community. He managed the campaign of Taras Natyshak, a family friend and NDP candidate in Essex in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections.\n\nLater life\nHayes died in 2011 after a long battle with lung cancer. He is buried in St. Mary`s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Essex County, Ontario.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n Tribute in the Legislative Assembly\n\n1943 births\n2011 deaths\nCanadian Auto Workers people\nMayors of places in Ontario\nOntario New Democratic Party MPPs\nPeople from Essex County, Ontario"
]
|
[
"Bob Hayes",
"Olympics",
"When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics?",
"At the 1964 Summer Olympics,"
]
| C_d5def122dd814ca0aa2e90b30bbd893f_0 | Where was the 1964 Summer Olympics at? | 2 | Where was the 1964 Summer Olympics held? | Bob Hayes | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21. In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976). Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968. CANNOTANSWER | in Tokyo, | Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash (with a time of 6.9 seconds). He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash.
He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Early years
Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida High School Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of racial segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, until 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) history.
College career
Hayes was a highly recruited athlete, and accepted a football scholarship from Florida A&M University, a historically black college, where he excelled in track and field.
He never lost a race in the 100-yard or 100-meter competitions, but mainstream schools of the area still did not invite him to their sanctioned meets. In 1962 the University of Miami invited him to a meet on their campus, where he tied the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash, which had been set by Frank Budd of Villanova University the previous year. He also was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds.
In 1963, although he never used a traditional sprinter form, he broke the 100-yard dash record with a time of 9.1, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974). That same year, Hayes set the world best for 200 meters (20.5 seconds, although the time was never ratified) and ran the 220-yard dash in a time of 20.6 seconds (while running into an eight mph wind). He was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His football coach Jake Gaither was not very high on giving Hayes time to train, which caused then president Lyndon B. Johnson to call him and insist he allow Hayes time off and to keep him healthy.
He was the AAU 100-yard dash champion three years running, from 1962–1964, and in 1964 was the NCAA champion in the 200-meter dash. He missed part of his senior year because of his Olympic bid for the gold medal.
In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds).
His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21.
In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind-legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976).
Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.
Professional football career
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. He was also selected by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round (105th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft, with a future selection. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.
Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, both against the Packers. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker Dave Robinson, which resulted in Don Meredith nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Tom Brown. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.
On July 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-Duke Fergerson).
Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by running back Emmitt Smith and retired by the team at the end of Smith's career.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1975 with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayes teamed up with Gene Washington in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for wide receiver Terry Beasley.
Multiple offensive threat
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as an erstwhile decoy rather than a deep threat.
Cowboy records
Hayes was the second player (after Franklin Clarke) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1965 he also started a streak (1965–1966) of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Terrell Owens (2007) and Dez Bryant (2012).
His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class
Death
On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2004 controversy
Hayes was close to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' legal and drug use issues marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall. Zimmerman eventually returned as a Hall of Fame voter.
2009 induction
On August 27, 2008, Hayes was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. On Saturday, January 31, 2009, he was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
The next day Lucille Hester, who claimed to be Hayes's sister, released a letter she said he had drafted three years before he died, on October 29, 1999, in case he did not live to see his induction. Its full text read:
You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49rs too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Stauback and tell all my teammates I love them dearly.
Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Mathew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.
I love you all.
Delivered by Hester in front of hundreds and a national cable television audience, the moment was described as "... one of the most compelling and touching scenes the Hall of Fame has seen." Shortly after, it was discovered that the supposedly signed letter was printed in the Calibri font, which was not released to the public until five years after Hayes' death. Some family members disputed Lucille Hester's claim to be related to Bob, and took steps to ensure she was not part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
On August 8, 2009, Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Staubach, Hayes' Dallas Cowboy teammate, along with Hayes' son Bob Hayes Jr., unveiled the bust, which was sculpted by Scott Myers. On hand were six members of Bob's Gilbert High School championship team. He was later inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.
References
Further reading
Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books.
External links
1942 births
2002 deaths
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Dallas Cowboys players
San Francisco 49ers players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Florida A&M Rattlers football players
Florida A&M Rattlers track and field athletes
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Track and field athletes from Florida
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"Edith Grobade de Oliveira (November 16, 1928 – December 1964) was an Olympic backstroke swimmer from Brazil, who competed at two Summer Olympics for her native country. At 19 years old, she was at the 1948 Summer Olympics, in London, where she swam the 100-metre backstroke, not reaching the finals. At 23 years old, she was at the 1952 Summer Olympics, in Helsinki, where she swam the 100-metre backstroke, not reaching the finals.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nEdith de Oliveira's obituary \n\n1928 births\n1964 deaths\nBrazilian female backstroke swimmers\nSwimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics\nSwimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics",
"Joan Tomàs Roca (born 17 February 1951) is an Andorran trap shooter who competed in five Summer Olympics spanning 36 years.\n\nTomàs started practicing shooting in 1971 and two years later he started to compete in events.\n\nTomàs was 25 years old when he made his first appearance in the Olympics, when he competed in the mixed trap event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where he scored 162 points and finished in 33rd place. At the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics he had his best finishes when he finished in 26th place at both Games, it was 16 years before Tomàs returned to the Olympic scene, when he competed in the trap event at the 2000 Summer Olympics, he went on to finish in 39th place out of 41 shooters, his final Olympic appearance was at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London when aged 61 years old again he competed in the trap event, he finished in 33rd place out of 34 shooters.\n\nTomàs was also his countries flag bearer at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.\n\nAs well as his five Olympic appearances he also competed in nine ISSF World Shooting Championships his best finish was 69th in 2003, and 15 ISSF European Shooting Championships where is best finish was 38th in 2000.\n\nHe is married with two children, and works in insurance, and shoots for the Mollet Club in Barcelona, his younger brother Esteve Tomàs competed in the giant slalom at the 1976 Winter Olympics.\n\nReferences \n\nShooters at the 1976 Summer Olympics\nShooters at the 1980 Summer Olympics\nShooters at the 1984 Summer Olympics\nShooters at the 2000 Summer Olympics\nShooters at the 2012 Summer Olympics\n1951 births\nAndorran male sport shooters\nOlympic shooters of Andorra\nLiving people"
]
|
[
"Bob Hayes",
"Olympics",
"When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics?",
"At the 1964 Summer Olympics,",
"Where was the 1964 Summer Olympics at?",
"in Tokyo,"
]
| C_d5def122dd814ca0aa2e90b30bbd893f_0 | Did he win any metals in Tokyo? | 3 | Did Bob Hayes win any metals in Tokyo? | Bob Hayes | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21. In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976). Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968. CANNOTANSWER | First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m | Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash (with a time of 6.9 seconds). He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash.
He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Early years
Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida High School Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of racial segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, until 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) history.
College career
Hayes was a highly recruited athlete, and accepted a football scholarship from Florida A&M University, a historically black college, where he excelled in track and field.
He never lost a race in the 100-yard or 100-meter competitions, but mainstream schools of the area still did not invite him to their sanctioned meets. In 1962 the University of Miami invited him to a meet on their campus, where he tied the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash, which had been set by Frank Budd of Villanova University the previous year. He also was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds.
In 1963, although he never used a traditional sprinter form, he broke the 100-yard dash record with a time of 9.1, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974). That same year, Hayes set the world best for 200 meters (20.5 seconds, although the time was never ratified) and ran the 220-yard dash in a time of 20.6 seconds (while running into an eight mph wind). He was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His football coach Jake Gaither was not very high on giving Hayes time to train, which caused then president Lyndon B. Johnson to call him and insist he allow Hayes time off and to keep him healthy.
He was the AAU 100-yard dash champion three years running, from 1962–1964, and in 1964 was the NCAA champion in the 200-meter dash. He missed part of his senior year because of his Olympic bid for the gold medal.
In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds).
His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21.
In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind-legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976).
Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.
Professional football career
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. He was also selected by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round (105th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft, with a future selection. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.
Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, both against the Packers. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker Dave Robinson, which resulted in Don Meredith nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Tom Brown. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.
On July 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-Duke Fergerson).
Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by running back Emmitt Smith and retired by the team at the end of Smith's career.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1975 with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayes teamed up with Gene Washington in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for wide receiver Terry Beasley.
Multiple offensive threat
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as an erstwhile decoy rather than a deep threat.
Cowboy records
Hayes was the second player (after Franklin Clarke) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1965 he also started a streak (1965–1966) of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Terrell Owens (2007) and Dez Bryant (2012).
His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class
Death
On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2004 controversy
Hayes was close to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' legal and drug use issues marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall. Zimmerman eventually returned as a Hall of Fame voter.
2009 induction
On August 27, 2008, Hayes was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. On Saturday, January 31, 2009, he was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
The next day Lucille Hester, who claimed to be Hayes's sister, released a letter she said he had drafted three years before he died, on October 29, 1999, in case he did not live to see his induction. Its full text read:
You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49rs too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Stauback and tell all my teammates I love them dearly.
Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Mathew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.
I love you all.
Delivered by Hester in front of hundreds and a national cable television audience, the moment was described as "... one of the most compelling and touching scenes the Hall of Fame has seen." Shortly after, it was discovered that the supposedly signed letter was printed in the Calibri font, which was not released to the public until five years after Hayes' death. Some family members disputed Lucille Hester's claim to be related to Bob, and took steps to ensure she was not part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
On August 8, 2009, Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Staubach, Hayes' Dallas Cowboy teammate, along with Hayes' son Bob Hayes Jr., unveiled the bust, which was sculpted by Scott Myers. On hand were six members of Bob's Gilbert High School championship team. He was later inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.
References
Further reading
Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books.
External links
1942 births
2002 deaths
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Dallas Cowboys players
San Francisco 49ers players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Florida A&M Rattlers football players
Florida A&M Rattlers track and field athletes
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Track and field athletes from Florida
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"Tokyo Commodity Exchange, also known as TOCOM, is Japan's largest and one of Asia's most prominent commodity futures exchanges. TOCOM operates electronic markets for precious metals, oil, rubber and soft commodities. It offers futures and options contracts for precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and palladium); energy (crude oil, gasoline, kerosene and gas oil); natural rubber and agricultural products (soybeans, corn and azuki).\n\nHistory\nTOCOM was established in 1984 with the merger of the Tokyo Textile Exchange, founded in 1951, the Tokyo Rubber Exchange and the Tokyo Gold Exchange. The exchange became a for-profit shareholder-owned company in 2008.\n\nIt launched the current trading platform based on the Nasdaq OMX technology in 2009. TOCOM will use Japan Exchange Group's new derivatives trading platform, Next J-Gate, from September 2016.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nTOCOM Official Website \n\nCommodity exchanges in Japan\nFutures exchanges\nCompanies based in Tokyo\nFinancial services companies established in 1951\n1951 establishments in Japan\nEconomy of Tokyo\nFinancial regulatory authorities of Japan\nJapan Exchange Group",
"Northern River (Japanese :ノーザンリバー, foaled April 12, 2008) is an Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2011 Arlington Cup.\n\nCareer \nHis brother is Renforcer, who won the 2012 Diolite Kinen.\n\nNorthern River's first race was on September 11th, 2010, at Sapporo, where he came in 2nd. Northern River picked up his win in Kyoto on January 16th, 2011. He then picked up another win 2 week later in Kyoto, and then won the 2011 Arlington Cup.\n\nThis win helped earn Northern River a place in the Grade-1, 2011 Satsuki Sho, where he finished in a disappointing 15th place. He attempted another Grade-1 race in May 2011, where he came in 17th at the 2011 Tokyo Yūshun.\n\nHe did not race in 2012. In 2013, he picked up another win at the 2013 Fukakusa Stakes in Kyoto. Later in November, he picked up another win at Kyoto. He then scored a Grade-3 win, by winning the 2013 Capella Stakes.\n\nHe spent 2014 competing in graded races. In February, he came in 4th at the 2014 February Stakes, and then won the Tokyo Spring in April, and won the Sakitama Cup in Urawa in May. He then picked up his last win on the year in October at the 2014 Tokyo Hai.\n\n2015 was his last year in racing. He placed 3rd at the Tokyo Sprint in April, then won the Sakitama Cup in May. He then retired after an 8th place finish at the 2015 Japan Breeding farms' Cup Sprint.\n\nStud career\nNorthern River's descendants include:\n\nc = colt, f = filly\n\nPedigree\n\nReferences\n\n2008 racehorse births\nThoroughbred family B3"
]
|
[
"Bob Hayes",
"Olympics",
"When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics?",
"At the 1964 Summer Olympics,",
"Where was the 1964 Summer Olympics at?",
"in Tokyo,",
"Did he win any metals in Tokyo?",
"First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m"
]
| C_d5def122dd814ca0aa2e90b30bbd893f_0 | What was his time that made him tie for the world record? | 4 | What was Bob's time that made him tie for the world record? | Bob Hayes | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21. In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976). Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968. CANNOTANSWER | with a time of 10.06 seconds, | Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash (with a time of 6.9 seconds). He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash.
He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Early years
Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida High School Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of racial segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, until 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) history.
College career
Hayes was a highly recruited athlete, and accepted a football scholarship from Florida A&M University, a historically black college, where he excelled in track and field.
He never lost a race in the 100-yard or 100-meter competitions, but mainstream schools of the area still did not invite him to their sanctioned meets. In 1962 the University of Miami invited him to a meet on their campus, where he tied the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash, which had been set by Frank Budd of Villanova University the previous year. He also was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds.
In 1963, although he never used a traditional sprinter form, he broke the 100-yard dash record with a time of 9.1, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974). That same year, Hayes set the world best for 200 meters (20.5 seconds, although the time was never ratified) and ran the 220-yard dash in a time of 20.6 seconds (while running into an eight mph wind). He was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His football coach Jake Gaither was not very high on giving Hayes time to train, which caused then president Lyndon B. Johnson to call him and insist he allow Hayes time off and to keep him healthy.
He was the AAU 100-yard dash champion three years running, from 1962–1964, and in 1964 was the NCAA champion in the 200-meter dash. He missed part of his senior year because of his Olympic bid for the gold medal.
In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds).
His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21.
In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind-legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976).
Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.
Professional football career
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. He was also selected by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round (105th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft, with a future selection. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.
Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, both against the Packers. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker Dave Robinson, which resulted in Don Meredith nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Tom Brown. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.
On July 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-Duke Fergerson).
Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by running back Emmitt Smith and retired by the team at the end of Smith's career.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1975 with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayes teamed up with Gene Washington in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for wide receiver Terry Beasley.
Multiple offensive threat
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as an erstwhile decoy rather than a deep threat.
Cowboy records
Hayes was the second player (after Franklin Clarke) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1965 he also started a streak (1965–1966) of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Terrell Owens (2007) and Dez Bryant (2012).
His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class
Death
On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2004 controversy
Hayes was close to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' legal and drug use issues marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall. Zimmerman eventually returned as a Hall of Fame voter.
2009 induction
On August 27, 2008, Hayes was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. On Saturday, January 31, 2009, he was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
The next day Lucille Hester, who claimed to be Hayes's sister, released a letter she said he had drafted three years before he died, on October 29, 1999, in case he did not live to see his induction. Its full text read:
You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49rs too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Stauback and tell all my teammates I love them dearly.
Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Mathew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.
I love you all.
Delivered by Hester in front of hundreds and a national cable television audience, the moment was described as "... one of the most compelling and touching scenes the Hall of Fame has seen." Shortly after, it was discovered that the supposedly signed letter was printed in the Calibri font, which was not released to the public until five years after Hayes' death. Some family members disputed Lucille Hester's claim to be related to Bob, and took steps to ensure she was not part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
On August 8, 2009, Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Staubach, Hayes' Dallas Cowboy teammate, along with Hayes' son Bob Hayes Jr., unveiled the bust, which was sculpted by Scott Myers. On hand were six members of Bob's Gilbert High School championship team. He was later inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.
References
Further reading
Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books.
External links
1942 births
2002 deaths
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Dallas Cowboys players
San Francisco 49ers players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Florida A&M Rattlers football players
Florida A&M Rattlers track and field athletes
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Track and field athletes from Florida
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"The International Racquetball Federation's 18th Racquetball World Championships were held in Cali, Colombia, from July 15 to 23, 2016. This was the first time Worlds were in Colombia, and the first time a South American country hosted the event since 1998, when Cochabamba, Bolivia, was the host city. \n\nAmerican Rocky Carson won gold for the fifth consecutive time, extending his career record, when he defeated Mexican Daniel De La Rosa, in the final, 15–11, 5–15, 11–5. But it was the first time that Carson needed a tie-breaker to win the final, and he also needed three games to advance to the final, as Bolivian Conrrado Moscoso took him to a tie-breaker in the semi-finals.\n\nTournament format\nThe 2016 World Championships used a two stage format with an initial group stage that was a round robin with the results used to seed players for a medal round.\n\nRound robin\n\nPool A\n\nPool B\n\nPool C\n\nPool D\n\nPool E\n\nPool F\n\nPool G\n\nPool H\n\nPool I\n\nMedal round\n\nReferences\n\n2016 Racquetball World Championships",
"The World Group was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2015. The first-round losers went into the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs, and the winners progressed to the quarterfinals and World Group spot for 2016.\n\nParticipating teams\n\nSeeds\n\nDraw\n\nFirst round\n\nGermany vs. France\n\nGreat Britain vs. United States\n\n The Isner-Ward match was the longest match involving a United States player since the introduction of the tiebreaker in 1989.\n Great Britain's victory over the United States was their first win over this country at home since 1935.\n\nCzech Republic vs. Australia\n\n This was Australia's first World Group win since 2006.\n\nKazakhstan vs. Italy\n\nArgentina vs. Brazil\n\n The Mayer-Souza match set the record for the longest Davis Cup singles rubber, lasting for 6 hours and 42 minutes, eclipsing the previous record by 20 minutes which was from the McEnroe-Wilander match in 1982. It is the second longest tour match in history, behind the Isner-Mahut match from Wimbledon 2010.\n\nSerbia vs. Croatia\n\nCanada vs. Japan\n\nBelgium vs. Switzerland\n\n Belgium won a World Group tie for the first time since 2007.\n\nQuarterfinals\n\nGreat Britain vs. France\n\n Great Britain won a quarterfinal match for the first time since 1981.\n It is the first time since 1998 that siblings have combined to win three points in a world group tie. The Black brothers Byron and Wayne did so for Zimbabwe against Australia.\n\nAustralia vs. Kazakhstan\n\n It was the first time in 76 years that Australia had come back from 2–0 down to win.\n It was the first time that all four nominated players had played in a singles live rubber tie for Australia.\n Australia made it into the semifinals for the first time since 2006.\n Despite having played Davis Cup for 17 years it was the first time that Hewitt had played in the deciding rubber.\n\nArgentina vs. Serbia\n\nBelgium vs. Canada\n\n Belgium advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1999.\n\nSemifinals\n\nGreat Britain vs. Australia\n\nGreat Britain reach their first final since 1978.\n\nBelgium vs. Argentina\n\nBelgium reach their first final since 1904 and equal their best Davis Cup performance.\n\nFinal\n\nBelgium vs. Great Britain\n\n Great Britain win their 10th Davis Cup and their first since 1936.\n Andy Murray becomes the third player to finish with an 8–0 record in the singles after John McEnroe and Mats Wilander.\n Andy Murray becomes the fourth player to finish with an 11–0 record in the singles and doubles.\n\nReferences\n\nWorld Group"
]
|
[
"Bob Hayes",
"Olympics",
"When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics?",
"At the 1964 Summer Olympics,",
"Where was the 1964 Summer Olympics at?",
"in Tokyo,",
"Did he win any metals in Tokyo?",
"First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m",
"What was his time that made him tie for the world record?",
"with a time of 10.06 seconds,"
]
| C_d5def122dd814ca0aa2e90b30bbd893f_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 5 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article in addition to Bob's world record tie? | Bob Hayes | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21. In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976). Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968. CANNOTANSWER | He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends | Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash (with a time of 6.9 seconds). He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash.
He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Early years
Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida High School Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of racial segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, until 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) history.
College career
Hayes was a highly recruited athlete, and accepted a football scholarship from Florida A&M University, a historically black college, where he excelled in track and field.
He never lost a race in the 100-yard or 100-meter competitions, but mainstream schools of the area still did not invite him to their sanctioned meets. In 1962 the University of Miami invited him to a meet on their campus, where he tied the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash, which had been set by Frank Budd of Villanova University the previous year. He also was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds.
In 1963, although he never used a traditional sprinter form, he broke the 100-yard dash record with a time of 9.1, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974). That same year, Hayes set the world best for 200 meters (20.5 seconds, although the time was never ratified) and ran the 220-yard dash in a time of 20.6 seconds (while running into an eight mph wind). He was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His football coach Jake Gaither was not very high on giving Hayes time to train, which caused then president Lyndon B. Johnson to call him and insist he allow Hayes time off and to keep him healthy.
He was the AAU 100-yard dash champion three years running, from 1962–1964, and in 1964 was the NCAA champion in the 200-meter dash. He missed part of his senior year because of his Olympic bid for the gold medal.
In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds).
His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21.
In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind-legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976).
Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.
Professional football career
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. He was also selected by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round (105th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft, with a future selection. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.
Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, both against the Packers. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker Dave Robinson, which resulted in Don Meredith nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Tom Brown. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.
On July 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-Duke Fergerson).
Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by running back Emmitt Smith and retired by the team at the end of Smith's career.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1975 with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayes teamed up with Gene Washington in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for wide receiver Terry Beasley.
Multiple offensive threat
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as an erstwhile decoy rather than a deep threat.
Cowboy records
Hayes was the second player (after Franklin Clarke) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1965 he also started a streak (1965–1966) of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Terrell Owens (2007) and Dez Bryant (2012).
His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class
Death
On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2004 controversy
Hayes was close to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' legal and drug use issues marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall. Zimmerman eventually returned as a Hall of Fame voter.
2009 induction
On August 27, 2008, Hayes was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. On Saturday, January 31, 2009, he was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
The next day Lucille Hester, who claimed to be Hayes's sister, released a letter she said he had drafted three years before he died, on October 29, 1999, in case he did not live to see his induction. Its full text read:
You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49rs too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Stauback and tell all my teammates I love them dearly.
Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Mathew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.
I love you all.
Delivered by Hester in front of hundreds and a national cable television audience, the moment was described as "... one of the most compelling and touching scenes the Hall of Fame has seen." Shortly after, it was discovered that the supposedly signed letter was printed in the Calibri font, which was not released to the public until five years after Hayes' death. Some family members disputed Lucille Hester's claim to be related to Bob, and took steps to ensure she was not part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
On August 8, 2009, Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Staubach, Hayes' Dallas Cowboy teammate, along with Hayes' son Bob Hayes Jr., unveiled the bust, which was sculpted by Scott Myers. On hand were six members of Bob's Gilbert High School championship team. He was later inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.
References
Further reading
Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books.
External links
1942 births
2002 deaths
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Dallas Cowboys players
San Francisco 49ers players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Florida A&M Rattlers football players
Florida A&M Rattlers track and field athletes
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Track and field athletes from Florida
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people | 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"
]
|
[
"Bob Hayes",
"Olympics",
"When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics?",
"At the 1964 Summer Olympics,",
"Where was the 1964 Summer Olympics at?",
"in Tokyo,",
"Did he win any metals in Tokyo?",
"First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m",
"What was his time that made him tie for the world record?",
"with a time of 10.06 seconds,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends"
]
| C_d5def122dd814ca0aa2e90b30bbd893f_0 | Was there any other metals in which he won in the Olympics? | 6 | Were there any other metals Bob Hayes won in the Olympics in addition to the 100m win? | Bob Hayes | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21. In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976). Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968. CANNOTANSWER | a second gold medal | Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash (with a time of 6.9 seconds). He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash.
He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Early years
Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida High School Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of racial segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, until 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) history.
College career
Hayes was a highly recruited athlete, and accepted a football scholarship from Florida A&M University, a historically black college, where he excelled in track and field.
He never lost a race in the 100-yard or 100-meter competitions, but mainstream schools of the area still did not invite him to their sanctioned meets. In 1962 the University of Miami invited him to a meet on their campus, where he tied the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash, which had been set by Frank Budd of Villanova University the previous year. He also was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds.
In 1963, although he never used a traditional sprinter form, he broke the 100-yard dash record with a time of 9.1, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974). That same year, Hayes set the world best for 200 meters (20.5 seconds, although the time was never ratified) and ran the 220-yard dash in a time of 20.6 seconds (while running into an eight mph wind). He was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His football coach Jake Gaither was not very high on giving Hayes time to train, which caused then president Lyndon B. Johnson to call him and insist he allow Hayes time off and to keep him healthy.
He was the AAU 100-yard dash champion three years running, from 1962–1964, and in 1964 was the NCAA champion in the 200-meter dash. He missed part of his senior year because of his Olympic bid for the gold medal.
In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds).
His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21.
In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind-legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976).
Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.
Professional football career
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. He was also selected by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round (105th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft, with a future selection. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.
Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, both against the Packers. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker Dave Robinson, which resulted in Don Meredith nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Tom Brown. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.
On July 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-Duke Fergerson).
Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by running back Emmitt Smith and retired by the team at the end of Smith's career.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1975 with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayes teamed up with Gene Washington in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for wide receiver Terry Beasley.
Multiple offensive threat
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as an erstwhile decoy rather than a deep threat.
Cowboy records
Hayes was the second player (after Franklin Clarke) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1965 he also started a streak (1965–1966) of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Terrell Owens (2007) and Dez Bryant (2012).
His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class
Death
On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2004 controversy
Hayes was close to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' legal and drug use issues marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall. Zimmerman eventually returned as a Hall of Fame voter.
2009 induction
On August 27, 2008, Hayes was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. On Saturday, January 31, 2009, he was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
The next day Lucille Hester, who claimed to be Hayes's sister, released a letter she said he had drafted three years before he died, on October 29, 1999, in case he did not live to see his induction. Its full text read:
You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49rs too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Stauback and tell all my teammates I love them dearly.
Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Mathew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.
I love you all.
Delivered by Hester in front of hundreds and a national cable television audience, the moment was described as "... one of the most compelling and touching scenes the Hall of Fame has seen." Shortly after, it was discovered that the supposedly signed letter was printed in the Calibri font, which was not released to the public until five years after Hayes' death. Some family members disputed Lucille Hester's claim to be related to Bob, and took steps to ensure she was not part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
On August 8, 2009, Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Staubach, Hayes' Dallas Cowboy teammate, along with Hayes' son Bob Hayes Jr., unveiled the bust, which was sculpted by Scott Myers. On hand were six members of Bob's Gilbert High School championship team. He was later inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.
References
Further reading
Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books.
External links
1942 births
2002 deaths
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Dallas Cowboys players
San Francisco 49ers players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Florida A&M Rattlers football players
Florida A&M Rattlers track and field athletes
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Track and field athletes from Florida
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"Yury Filaretovich Tsuranov (, 2 January 1936 – 15 March 2008) was a Soviet Olympic skeet shooter. He competed at the 1968, 1972 and the 1976 Summer Olympics and finished in 4th, 13th and 10th place, respectively. Between 1958 and 1975 Tsuranov won three individual and seven team gold medals at the world championships; he became European champion 10 times and Soviet champion 11 times. He had the world's best result (200 out of 200) in 1971. Earlier at the 1963 Soviet Championships Tsuranov and his rival Yevgeni Petrov hit 200 targets out of 200, followed by three series of 25 out of 25. Then the jury stopped the contest and awarded gold medals to both shooters. \n\nTsuranov graduated from the Moscow institute of noble metals and since 1960 lived in Sverdlovsk. He was the head coach of the Soviet (1978–79) and Russian (1978–89) shooting teams.\n\nTsuranov died in 2008. He was survived by sons Aleksandr and Konstantin. Konstantin competed in skeet shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics.\n\nReferences\n\n1936 births\n2008 deaths\nPeople from Nerchinsky District\nSoviet male sport shooters\nOlympic shooters of the Soviet Union\nShooters at the 1968 Summer Olympics\nShooters at the 1972 Summer Olympics\nShooters at the 1976 Summer Olympics",
"Luis Weihmüller (5 August 1902 – 1963) was an Argentine footballer. He was part of Argentina's squad for the 1928 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches.\n\nEarly life\nWeihmüller was born and lived his first years in San Carlos Centro, Argentina. He was born in 1902 (according to his family on the 5 August). He was the son of Swiss immigrants. As a child everyone called him \"Sity\".\n\nThe 1928 Olympics\nPrior to the 1928 Olympics, Luis F. Weihmüller was summoned to join the Argentinian squad that had a number of players who would star two years later in the 1930 World Cup played in Uruguay. The strange thing was that, in those years, managers were not allowed in the rules to replace a player with another. Anyway, as a member of that squad, Weihmüller won a silver medal. In the Argentine squad, there were five other players from Sportivo Palermo, which was Weihmüller's current team: Fernando Paternoster, Adolfo Zumelzu, Ludovico Bidoglio, Herman, and Juan Evaristo.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n https://web.archive.org/web/20150623215531/http://www.eldiariocba.com.ar/noticias/nota.asp?nid=53354\n https://web.archive.org/web/20160804215331/http://anteriores2.eldiariocba.com.ar/noticias/nota.asp?nid=53354\n\n1902 births\n1963 deaths\nArgentine footballers\nMedalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics\nOlympic silver medalists for Argentina\nAssociation football defenders\nFootballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics\nArgentine people of German descent"
]
|
[
"Bob Hayes",
"Olympics",
"When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics?",
"At the 1964 Summer Olympics,",
"Where was the 1964 Summer Olympics at?",
"in Tokyo,",
"Did he win any metals in Tokyo?",
"First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m",
"What was his time that made him tie for the world record?",
"with a time of 10.06 seconds,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends",
"Was there any other metals in which he won in the Olympics?",
"a second gold medal"
]
| C_d5def122dd814ca0aa2e90b30bbd893f_0 | What race did he win that in? | 7 | What race did Bob Hayes win the second gold medal in? | Bob Hayes | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21. In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976). Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968. CANNOTANSWER | 4x100 meter relay, | Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash (with a time of 6.9 seconds). He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash.
He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Early years
Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida High School Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of racial segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, until 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) history.
College career
Hayes was a highly recruited athlete, and accepted a football scholarship from Florida A&M University, a historically black college, where he excelled in track and field.
He never lost a race in the 100-yard or 100-meter competitions, but mainstream schools of the area still did not invite him to their sanctioned meets. In 1962 the University of Miami invited him to a meet on their campus, where he tied the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash, which had been set by Frank Budd of Villanova University the previous year. He also was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds.
In 1963, although he never used a traditional sprinter form, he broke the 100-yard dash record with a time of 9.1, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974). That same year, Hayes set the world best for 200 meters (20.5 seconds, although the time was never ratified) and ran the 220-yard dash in a time of 20.6 seconds (while running into an eight mph wind). He was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His football coach Jake Gaither was not very high on giving Hayes time to train, which caused then president Lyndon B. Johnson to call him and insist he allow Hayes time off and to keep him healthy.
He was the AAU 100-yard dash champion three years running, from 1962–1964, and in 1964 was the NCAA champion in the 200-meter dash. He missed part of his senior year because of his Olympic bid for the gold medal.
In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds).
His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21.
In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind-legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976).
Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.
Professional football career
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. He was also selected by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round (105th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft, with a future selection. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.
Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, both against the Packers. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker Dave Robinson, which resulted in Don Meredith nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Tom Brown. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.
On July 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-Duke Fergerson).
Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by running back Emmitt Smith and retired by the team at the end of Smith's career.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1975 with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayes teamed up with Gene Washington in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for wide receiver Terry Beasley.
Multiple offensive threat
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as an erstwhile decoy rather than a deep threat.
Cowboy records
Hayes was the second player (after Franklin Clarke) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1965 he also started a streak (1965–1966) of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Terrell Owens (2007) and Dez Bryant (2012).
His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class
Death
On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2004 controversy
Hayes was close to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' legal and drug use issues marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall. Zimmerman eventually returned as a Hall of Fame voter.
2009 induction
On August 27, 2008, Hayes was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. On Saturday, January 31, 2009, he was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
The next day Lucille Hester, who claimed to be Hayes's sister, released a letter she said he had drafted three years before he died, on October 29, 1999, in case he did not live to see his induction. Its full text read:
You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49rs too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Stauback and tell all my teammates I love them dearly.
Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Mathew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.
I love you all.
Delivered by Hester in front of hundreds and a national cable television audience, the moment was described as "... one of the most compelling and touching scenes the Hall of Fame has seen." Shortly after, it was discovered that the supposedly signed letter was printed in the Calibri font, which was not released to the public until five years after Hayes' death. Some family members disputed Lucille Hester's claim to be related to Bob, and took steps to ensure she was not part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
On August 8, 2009, Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Staubach, Hayes' Dallas Cowboy teammate, along with Hayes' son Bob Hayes Jr., unveiled the bust, which was sculpted by Scott Myers. On hand were six members of Bob's Gilbert High School championship team. He was later inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.
References
Further reading
Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books.
External links
1942 births
2002 deaths
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Dallas Cowboys players
San Francisco 49ers players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Florida A&M Rattlers football players
Florida A&M Rattlers track and field athletes
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Track and field athletes from Florida
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people | false | [
"Gift Box (foaled March 23rd, 2013) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2019 Santa Anita Handicap .\n\nCareer\n\nGift Box's first race was on August 22nd, 2015 at Saratoga, where he came in third. He picked up his next win in his second race at Belmont Park on October 3rd, 2015. \n\nHe came in 3rd place in his first graded race, at the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes on November 28th, 2015. He then picked up another win at Belmont on May 26th, 2015.\n\nHis next win did not come until March 24th, 2018, when he won at the Aqueduct. He turned his career around when he won the Grade-2 San Antonio Handicap on December 26th, 2018. This was his first victory in a graded race.\n\nHis next race was on April 6th, 2019. He competed in his second Grade-1 race, this time at the Santa Anita Handicap, where he was victorious.\n\nHe came in 2nd at the May 27th, 2019 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes and then came in 4th at the June 15th, 2019 Stephen Foster Handicap. However, he competed in one last race in 2019 - the December 28th, 2019 San Antonio Handicap, where he won the race for the second time.\n\nPedigree\n\nReferences\n\n2013 racehorse births",
"Winslow Homer (foaled January 30, 2007) is an American thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2010 Holy Bull Stakes.\n\nBackground \nBred in Kentucky by Overbrook Farm, Winslow Homer is a gray horse with three white socks and a white blaze. He was sired by Unbridled's Song, the sire of many notable horses such as Arrogate, Will Take Charge, and Forever Unbridled. His dam, Summer Raven, won the Tempted Stakes as a juvenile and placed in two other stakes.\n\nWinslow Homer is a half-brother to multiple Gr.II winner Lewis Bay and full brother to General George Handicap winner Misconnect.\n\nRick Porter, under his banner Fox Hill Farm, purchased Winslow Homer for $310,000 at the 2008 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was the highest-priced yearling of his class by his stallion. Named for the artist, Winslow Homer was trained by Anthony W. Dutrow.\n\nRacing career \nWinslow Homer made his racing debut on July 28, 2009 in a maiden race at Delaware Park, finishing third by a neck. He broke his maiden next out in a maiden race at Saratoga, and won again at Philadelphia Park in an allowance by a 12 ½ length margin.\n\nWinslow Homer made his first start as a sophomore in the Holy Bull Stakes, a race that was both his stakes and graded stakes debut. Breaking from the 6 starting gate at odds of 7-2, Winslow Homer won the race by a length over Jackson Bend. His final time was 1:35.97. After his win, Winslow Homer was considered an early favorite for the Kentucky Derby, but was sidelined with a stress fracture and did not make the race. He didn't race again until June, when he finished third in the Iowa Derby behind Concord Point and Thiskyhasnolimit. The colt next won the listed Curlin Stakes at Saratoga by 9 lengths in what was the final win of his career. After the Curlin Stakes, Winslow Homer was sidelined again with a colyndar fracture in his left foreleg.\n\nWinslow Homer returned the next year in March, contesting the 2011 Razorback Handicap as the 9-5 favorite. Winslow Homer trailed towards the end of the field for most of the race, before moving up to fourth at the top of the stretch. Winslow Homer did not hold long and he faded back into 6th place. He fared much better next-out in the Oaklawn Handicap, finishing third. He did not race again until October, finishing second and fifth in two allowance races. He did not race\n\nWinslow Homer was again sidelined and did not race in 2012. He made his final start in September 2013 in the listed Super Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, finishing fourth. He was retired afterwards with a race record of 11: 4-1-3 and earnings of $273,365.\n\nRetirement and Stud Career \nWinslow Homer was retired to Brent and Crystal Fernung's Journeyman Stud in Ocala, Florida. His stud fee for his first year as a stallion was $5,000.\n\nWinslow Homer's first winner came on July 1, 2017 when filly Cloe Raven won a maiden race at Louisiana Downs. Cloe Raven was the favorite for the race, and won by over 6 lengths in gate-to-wire fashion.\n\nReferences\n\n2007 racehorse births\nThoroughbred family 1-w\nRacehorses bred in Kentucky\nRacehorses trained in the United States"
]
|
[
"Bob Hayes",
"Olympics",
"When did Bob Hayes go to the Olympics?",
"At the 1964 Summer Olympics,",
"Where was the 1964 Summer Olympics at?",
"in Tokyo,",
"Did he win any metals in Tokyo?",
"First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m",
"What was his time that made him tie for the world record?",
"with a time of 10.06 seconds,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends",
"Was there any other metals in which he won in the Olympics?",
"a second gold medal",
"What race did he win that in?",
"4x100 meter relay,"
]
| C_d5def122dd814ca0aa2e90b30bbd893f_0 | Did that break any world records? | 8 | Did the 4x100 meter win break any world records? | Bob Hayes | At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21. In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976). Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968. CANNOTANSWER | which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds). | Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe. He once held the world record for the 70-yard dash (with a time of 6.9 seconds). He also is tied for the world's second-fastest time in the 60-yard dash.
He was once considered the "world's fastest human" by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes. He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Early years
Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida High School Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of racial segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, until 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) history.
College career
Hayes was a highly recruited athlete, and accepted a football scholarship from Florida A&M University, a historically black college, where he excelled in track and field.
He never lost a race in the 100-yard or 100-meter competitions, but mainstream schools of the area still did not invite him to their sanctioned meets. In 1962 the University of Miami invited him to a meet on their campus, where he tied the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash, which had been set by Frank Budd of Villanova University the previous year. He also was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds.
In 1963, although he never used a traditional sprinter form, he broke the 100-yard dash record with a time of 9.1, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974). That same year, Hayes set the world best for 200 meters (20.5 seconds, although the time was never ratified) and ran the 220-yard dash in a time of 20.6 seconds (while running into an eight mph wind). He was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His football coach Jake Gaither was not very high on giving Hayes time to train, which caused then president Lyndon B. Johnson to call him and insist he allow Hayes time off and to keep him healthy.
He was the AAU 100-yard dash champion three years running, from 1962–1964, and in 1964 was the NCAA champion in the 200-meter dash. He missed part of his senior year because of his Olympic bid for the gold medal.
In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100m and in doing so tied the then world record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 seconds, even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 20 km racewalk and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4×100 meter relay, which also produced a new World Record (39.06 seconds).
His come-from-behind win for the US team in the relay was one of the most memorable Olympic moments. Hand-timed between 8.5 and 8.9 seconds, his relay leg is the fastest in history. Jocelyn Delecour, France's anchor leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that, "You can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply afterwards, "That's all we need." The race was also Hayes' last as a track and field athlete, as he permanently switched to football after it, aged only 21.
In some of the first meets to be timed with experimental fully automatic timing, Hayes was the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 meters, albeit with a 5.3 m/s wind assistance in the semi-finals of the 1964 Olympics. His time was recorded at 9.91 seconds. Jim Hines officially broke 10 seconds at the high altitude of Mexico City, Mexico in 1968 (and on a synthetic track) with a wind-legal 9.95 which stood as the world record for almost 15 years. The next to surpass Hayes at a low altitude Olympics was Carl Lewis in 1984 when he won in 9.99, some 20 years later (though Hasely Crawford equaled the time in 1976).
Until the Tokyo Olympics, world records were measured by officials with stopwatches, measured to the nearest tenth of a second. Although fully automatic timing was used in Tokyo, the times were given the appearance of manual timing. This was done by subtracting 0.05 seconds from the automatic time and rounding to the nearest tenth of a second, making Hayes' time of 10.06 seconds convert to 10.0 seconds, despite the fact that the officials with stopwatches had measured Hayes' time to be 9.9 seconds, and the average difference between manual and automatic times was typically 0.15 to 0.20 seconds. This unique method of determining the official time therefore denied Hayes the record of being the first to officially record 9.9 seconds for the 100 meters. The first official times of 9.9 seconds were recorded at the "Night of Speed" in 1968.
Professional football career
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a wide receiver. He was also selected by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round (105th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft, with a future selection. The bet paid off, due to his amazing feats in cleats. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a zone defense and the bump and run to attempt to contain him.
Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively. In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the New York Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Later, in the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until Miles Austin broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.
Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, both against the Packers. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker Dave Robinson, which resulted in Don Meredith nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Tom Brown. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.
On July 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-Duke Fergerson).
Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by running back Emmitt Smith and retired by the team at the end of Smith's career.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1975 with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayes teamed up with Gene Washington in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for wide receiver Terry Beasley.
Multiple offensive threat
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as an erstwhile decoy rather than a deep threat.
Cowboy records
Hayes was the second player (after Franklin Clarke) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (both career touchdowns and yards per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1965 he also started a streak (1965–1966) of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Terrell Owens (2007) and Dez Bryant (2012).
His 7,295 receiving yards are the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class
Death
On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2004 controversy
Hayes was close to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' legal and drug use issues marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall. Zimmerman eventually returned as a Hall of Fame voter.
2009 induction
On August 27, 2008, Hayes was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. On Saturday, January 31, 2009, he was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2009.
The next day Lucille Hester, who claimed to be Hayes's sister, released a letter she said he had drafted three years before he died, on October 29, 1999, in case he did not live to see his induction. Its full text read:
You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49rs too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Stauback and tell all my teammates I love them dearly.
Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Mathew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.
I love you all.
Delivered by Hester in front of hundreds and a national cable television audience, the moment was described as "... one of the most compelling and touching scenes the Hall of Fame has seen." Shortly after, it was discovered that the supposedly signed letter was printed in the Calibri font, which was not released to the public until five years after Hayes' death. Some family members disputed Lucille Hester's claim to be related to Bob, and took steps to ensure she was not part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
On August 8, 2009, Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Staubach, Hayes' Dallas Cowboy teammate, along with Hayes' son Bob Hayes Jr., unveiled the bust, which was sculpted by Scott Myers. On hand were six members of Bob's Gilbert High School championship team. He was later inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.
References
Further reading
Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books.
External links
1942 births
2002 deaths
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Dallas Cowboys players
San Francisco 49ers players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Florida A&M Rattlers football players
Florida A&M Rattlers track and field athletes
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Track and field athletes from Florida
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"Numerous world records and Olympic records were set in various events at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Some events occur over non-standard conditions (e.g., canoeing) in which case there are no official records, just \"world best\" and \"olympic best\" results.\n\nArchery\n\nAthletics\n\nCanoe sprint\n\nTrack cycling\n\nModern pentathlon\n\nRowing\n\nIn rowing there are not world records due to the huge variability that weather conditions can have on times. Instead, there are world best times, which are set over the international rowing distance of 2000 m.\n\nShooting\n\nWhile Jiang Ranxin and Wei Meng did not break the qualification world records for the women's 10m air pistol or the women's skeet respectively, they did set Olympic records since they were not previously established in those events.\n\nSport climbing\n\nSwimming\n\nMen\n\nWomen\n\nLegend: r – First leg of relay\n\nAll world records (WR) are consequently Olympic records (OR).\n\nMixed\n\nWeightlifting\n\nMen\n\nWomen\n\nFootnotes\n\nReferences\n\n2020 Summer Olympics\n2016 Summer Olympics",
"Guinness World Records – Ab India Todega (English: Guinness World Records – Now India will Break) is an Indian English-language reality TV show based on the Guinness Book of World Records. The show, which was hosted by Preity Zinta and Shabbir Ahluwalia, premiered on 18 March 2011 to an audience measurement of 3.3 rating points. Each episode presents different individuals trying to break official world records.\n\nFormat\nThe format of the show is similar to that of previous TV shows based on the book of world records. The show's initial goal was to break over 70 Guinness World Records. Kristian Teufel, an official Guinness World Records adjudicator, is present on stage while every participant attempts to break a record and constitutes the final authority on the record, being the one who analyses the performance and announces the results.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official site\nEntry on Colors Channel\nWorld Records Listing\n\nIndian reality television series\nColors TV original programming\n2011 Indian television series debuts\nGuinness World Records\nIndian television series based on British television series"
]
|
[
"Harold Innis",
"\"Dirt\" research"
]
| C_8313ede8658048b1bfa342c647b62f91_1 | What is dirt research? | 1 | What is dirt research in regards to Harold Innis? | Harold Innis | Harold Adams Innis was born in 1894 on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him 'Herald', hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist Church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the Church: The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville. Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled 20 miles (32 km) by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him. Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West. Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent". As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result. Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence". It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that this National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada", Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement." In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he would not only need to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade, but would also have to travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience. Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay. Everywhere Innis went his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories. CANNOTANSWER | gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience. | Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 9, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition.
Innis's writings on communication explore the role of media in shaping the culture and development of civilizations. He argued, for example, that a balance between oral and written forms of communication contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization in the 5th century BC. He warned, however, that Western civilization is now imperiled by powerful, advertising-driven media obsessed by "present-mindedness" and the "continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity." His intellectual bond with Eric A. Havelock formed the foundations of the Toronto School of communication theory, which provided a source of inspiration for future members of the school: Marshall McLuhan and Edmund Snow Carpenter.
Innis laid the basis for scholarship that looked at the social sciences from a distinctly Canadian point of view. As the head of the University of Toronto's political economy department, he worked to build up a cadre of Canadian scholars so that universities would not continue to rely as heavily on British or American-trained professors unfamiliar with Canada's history and culture. He was successful in establishing sources of financing for Canadian scholarly research.
As the Cold War grew hotter after 1947, Innis grew increasingly hostile to the United States. He warned repeatedly that Canada was becoming a subservient colony to its much more powerful southern neighbor. "We are indeed fighting for our lives," he warned, pointing especially to the "pernicious influence of American advertising.... We can only survive by taking persistent action at strategic points against American imperialism in all its attractive guises." His views influenced some younger scholars, including Donald Creighton.
Innis also tried to defend universities from political and economic pressures. He believed that independent universities, as centres of critical thought, were essential to the survival of Western civilization. His intellectual disciple and university colleague, Marshall McLuhan, lamented Innis's premature death as a disastrous loss for human understanding. McLuhan wrote: "I am pleased to think of my own book The Gutenberg Galaxy as a footnote to the observations of Innis on the subject of the psychic and social consequences, first of writing then of printing."
Rural roots
Early life
Innis was born on November 5, 1894, on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him Herald, hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the church:
The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville.
Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him.
University studies
In October 1913, Innis started classes at McMaster University (then in Toronto). McMaster was a natural choice for him because it was a Baptist university and many students who attended Woodstock College went there. McMaster's liberal arts professors encouraged critical thinking and debate. Innis was especially influenced by , the university's one-man philosophy department. Ten Broeke posed an essay question that Innis pondered for the rest of his life: "Why do we attend to the things to which we attend?"
Before his final undergraduate year at McMaster, Innis spent a summer teaching at the Northern Star School in the frontier farming community of Landonville near Vermilion, Alberta. The experience gave him a sense of the vastness of Canada. He also learned about Western grievances over high interest rates and steep transportation costs. In his final undergraduate year, Innis focused on history and economics. He kept in mind a remark made by history lecturer W. S. Wallace that the economic interpretation of history was not the only possible one but that it went the deepest.
First World War service
After graduating from McMaster, Innis felt that his Christian principles compelled him to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent to France in the fall of 1916 to fight in the First World War. Trench warfare with its "mud and lice and rats" had a devastating effect on him.
Innis's role as an artillery signaller gave him firsthand experience of life (and death) on the front lines as he participated in the successful Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge. Signallers, or spotters, watched where each artillery shell landed, then sent back aiming corrections so that the next shells could hit their targets more accurately. On July 7, 1917, Innis received a serious shrapnel wound in his right thigh that required eight months of hospital treatment in England.
Innis's war was over. His biographer, John Watson, notes the physical wound took seven years to heal, but the psychological damage lasted a lifetime. Innis suffered recurring bouts of depression and nervous exhaustion because of his military service.
Watson also notes that the Great War influenced Innis's intellectual outlook. It strengthened his Canadian nationalism; sharpened his opinion of what he thought were the destructive effects of technology, including the communications media that were used so effectively to "sell" the war; and led him, for the first time, to doubt his Baptist faith.
Graduate studies
McMaster and Chicago
Harold Innis completed a Master of Arts degree at McMaster, graduating in April 1918. His thesis, called The Returned Soldier, "was a detailed description of the public policy measures that were necessary, not only to provide a supportive milieu to help veterans get over the effects of the war, but also to move on with national reconstruction."
Innis did his postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and was awarded his PhD, with a dissertation on the history of Canadian Pacific Railway, in August 1920. His two years at Chicago had a profound influence on his later work. His interest in economics deepened and he decided to become a professional economist. The economics faculty at Chicago questioned abstract and universalist neoclassical theories, then in vogue, arguing that general rules for economic policy should be derived from specific case studies.
Innis was influenced by the university's two eminent communications scholars, George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park. Although he did not attend any of those famous professors' classes, Innis did absorb their idea that communication involved much more than the transmission of information. James W. Carey writes that Mead and Park "characterized communication as the entire process whereby a culture is brought into existence, maintained in time, and sedimented into institutions."
While at Chicago, Innis was exposed to the ideas of Thorstein Veblen, the iconoclastic thinker who drew on his deep knowledge of philosophy and economics to write scathing critiques of contemporary thought and culture. Veblen had left Chicago years before, but his ideas were still strongly felt there. Years later, in an essay on Veblen, Innis praised him for waging war against "standardized static economics."
Innis got his first taste of university teaching at Chicago, where he delivered several introductory economics courses. One of his students was Mary Quayle, the woman he would marry in May 1921 when he was 26 and she 22. Together they had four children, Donald (1924), Mary (1927), Hugh (1930), and Anne (1933). Mary Quayle Innis was herself a notable economist and writer. Her book, An Economic History of Canada, was published in 1935. Her novel, Stand on a Rainbow appeared in 1943. Her other books include Mrs. Simcoe's Diary (1965), The Clear Spirit: Canadian Women and Their Times (1966) and Unfold the Years (1949), a history of the Young Women's Christian Association. She also edited Harold Innis's posthumous Essays in Canadian Economic History (1956) and a 1972 reissue of his Empire and Communications.
Donald Quayle Innis became a geography professor at the State University of New York, Mary married a surgeon and did graduate work in French literature, Hugh Innis became a professor at Ryerson University where he taught communications and economics, Anne Innis Dagg did doctoral work in biology and became an advisor for the independent studies program at the University of Waterloo and published books on zoology, feminism, and Canadian women's history.
History of the CPR
Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West.
Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent." As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result.
Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence." It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that the National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada," Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement."
Staples thesis
Harold Innis is considered the leading founder of a Canadian school of economic thought known as the staples theory. It holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively shaped by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, wood, wheat, mined metals and fossil fuels. Innis theorized that the reliance on exporting natural resources made Canada dependent on more industrially advanced countries and resulted in periodic disruptions to economic life as the international demand for staples rose and fell; as the staple itself became increasingly scarce; and, as technological change resulted in shifts from one staple to others. Innis pointed out, for example, that as furs became scarce and trade in that staple declined, it became necessary to develop and export other staples such as wheat, potash and especially lumber. The export of the new staples was made possible through improved transportation networks that included first canals and later railways.
"Dirt" research
In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he had to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade and also travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience.
Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay.
Everywhere that Innis went, his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories.
Fur trade in Canada
Harold Innis's interest in the relationship between empires and colonies was developed in his classic study, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930). The book chronicles the trade in beaver fur from the early 16th century to the 1920s. Instead of focusing on the "heroic" European adventurers who explored the Canadian wilderness as conventional histories had done, Innis documents how the interplay of geography, technology and economic forces shaped both the fur trade and Canada's political and economic destiny. He argues that the fur trade largely determined Canada's boundaries, and he comes to the conclusion that the country "emerged not in spite of geography but because of it."
In line with that observation, Innis notably proposes that European settlement of the Saint Lawrence River Valley followed the economic and social patterns of indigenous peoples, making for a Canadian historical and cultural continuity that predates and postdates European settlement. Unlike many historians who see Canadian history as beginning with the arrival of Europeans, Innis emphasizes the cultural and economic contributions of First Nations peoples. "We have not yet realized," he writes, "that the Indian and his culture was fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions."
The Innisian perspective on the development of Canadian political, economic and social institutions was an early form of neo-institutionalism, which became an accepted part of the Canadian political science tradition well before American and European counterparts. The Fur Trade in Canada concludes by arguing that Canadian economic history can best be understood by examining how one staple product gave way to another—furs to timber, for example, and the later importance of wheat and minerals. Reliance on staples made Canada economically dependent on more industrially advanced countries and the "cyclonic" shifts from one staple to another caused frequent disruptions in the country's economic life.
The Fur Trade in Canada also describes the cultural interactions among three groups of people: the Europeans in fashionable metropolitan centres who regarded beaver hats as luxury items; the European colonial settlers who saw beaver fur as a staple that could be exported to pay for essential manufactured goods from the home country, and First Nations peoples who traded furs for industrial goods such as metal pots, knives, guns and liquor. Innis describes the central role First Nations peoples played in the development of the fur trade. Without their skilled hunting techniques, knowledge of the territory and advanced tools such as snowshoes, toboggans and birch-bark canoes, the fur trade would not have existed. However, dependence on European technologies disrupted First Nations societies. "The new technology with its radical innovations," Innis writes, "brought about such a rapid shift in the prevailing Indian culture as to lead to wholesale destruction of the peoples concerned by warfare and disease." Historian Carl Berger argues that by placing First Nations culture at the centre of his analysis of the fur trade, Innis "was the first to explain adequately the disintegration of native society under the thrust of European capitalism."
Cod fishery
After the publication of his book on the fur trade, Innis turned to a study of an earlier staple, the cod fished for centuries off the eastern coasts of North America, especially the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The result was The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy published in 1940, 10 years after the fur trade study. Innis tells the detailed history of competing empires in the exploitation of a teeming natural resource, a history that ranges over 500 years. While his study of the fur trade focused on the continental interior with its interlocking rivers and lakes, The Cod Fisheries looks outward at global trade and empire, showing the far-reaching effects of one staple product both on imperial centres and on marginal colonies such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England.
Communications theories
Innis's study of the effects of interconnected lakes and rivers on Canadian development and European empire sparked his interest in the complex economic and cultural relationships between transportation systems and communications. During the 1940s, Innis also began studying pulp and paper, an industry of central importance to the Canadian economy. The research provided an additional crossover point from his work on staple products to his communications studies. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis "followed pulp and paper through its subsequent stages: newspapers and journalism, books and advertising. In other words, from looking at a natural resource-based industry he turned his attention to a cultural industry in which information, and ultimately knowledge, was a commodity that circulated, had value, and empowered those who controlled it."
One of Innis's primary contributions to communications studies was to apply the dimensions of time and space to various media. He divided media into time-binding and space-binding types. Time-binding media are durable and include clay or stone tablets. Space-binding media are more ephemeral and include modern media such as radio, television, and mass circulation newspapers.
Innis examined the rise and fall of ancient empires as a way of tracing the effects of communications media. He looked at media that led to the growth of an empire; those that sustained it during its periods of success, and then, the communications changes that hastened an empire's collapse. He tried to show that media 'biases' toward time or space affected the complex interrelationships needed to sustain an empire. The interrelationships included the partnership between the knowledge (and ideas) necessary to create and maintain an empire and the power (or force) required to expand and defend it. For Innis, the interplay between knowledge and power was always a crucial factor in understanding empire.
Innis argued that a balance between the spoken word and writing contributed to the flourishing of Ancient Greece in the time of Plato. The balance between the time-biased medium of speech and the space-biased medium of writing was eventually upset, Innis argued, as the oral tradition gave way to the dominance of writing. The torch of empire then passed from Greece to Rome.
Innis's analysis of the effects of communications on the rise and fall of empires led him to warn grimly that Western civilization was now facing its own profound crisis. The development of powerful communications media such as mass-circulation newspapers had shifted the balance decisively in favour of space and power, over time, continuity and knowledge. The balance required for cultural survival had been upset by what Innis saw as "mechanized" communications media used to transmit information quickly over long distances. The new media had contributed to an obsession with "present-mindedness", wiping out concerns about past or future. Innis wrote,
The overwhelming pressure of mechanization evident in the newspaper and the magazine, has led to the creation of vast monopolies of communication. Their entrenched positions involve a continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity.
Western civilization could be saved, Innis argued, only by recovering the balance between space and time. For him, that meant reinvigorating the oral tradition within universities while freeing institutions of higher learning from political and commercial pressures. In his essay, A Plea for Time, he suggested that genuine dialogue within universities could produce the critical thinking necessary to restore the balance between power and knowledge. Then, universities could muster the courage to attack the monopolies that always imperil civilization.
Although Innis remains appreciated and respected for the grand and unique nature of his later efforts regarding communications theories, he was not without critics. Particularly, the fragmentary and mosaic writing style exemplified in Empire and Communications has been criticized as ambiguous, aggressively nonlinear, and lacking connections between levels of analysis. Biographers have suggested that the style may have been a result of Innis's illness late in his career.
Academic and public career
Influence in the 1930s
Aside from his work on The Cod Fisheries, Innis wrote extensively in the 1930s about other staple products such as minerals and wheat as well as Canada's immense economic problems in the Great Depression. During the summers of 1932 and 1933, he travelled to the West to see the effects of the Depression for himself. The next year, in an essay entitled, The Canadian Economy and the Depression, Innis outlined the plight of "a country susceptible to the slightest ground-swell of international disturbance" but beset by regional differences that made it difficult to devise effective solutions. He described a prairie economy dependent on the export of wheat but afflicted by severe drought, on the one hand, and the increased political power of Canada's growing cities, sheltered from direct reliance on the staples trade, on the other. The result was political conflict and a breakdown in federal–provincial relations. "We lack vital information on which to base prospective policies to meet this situation," Innis warned, because of "the weak position of the social sciences in Canada."
Innis's reputation as a public intellectual was growing steadily and, in 1934, Premier Angus Lewis Macdonald invited him to serve on a Royal Commission to examine Nova Scotia's economic problems. The next year, he helped establish The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. In 1936, he was appointed a full University of Toronto professor and a year later, became the head of the university's Department of Political Economy.
Innis was appointed president of the Canadian Political Science Association in 1938. His inaugural address, The Penetrative Powers of the Price System, must have baffled his listeners as he ranged over centuries of economic history jumping abruptly from one topic to the next linking monetary developments to patterns of trade and settlement. The address was an ambitious attempt to show the disruptive effects of new technologies culminating in the modern shift from an industrial system based on coal and iron to the newest sources of industrial power, electricity, oil, and steel. Innis also tried to show the commercial effects of mass circulation newspapers, made possible by expanded newsprint production, and of the new medium of radio, which "threatens to circumvent the walls imposed by tariffs and to reach across boundaries frequently denied to other media of communication." Both media, Innis argued, stimulated the demand for consumer goods and both promoted nationalism.
Innis was also a central participant in an international project that produced 25 scholarly volumes between 1936 and 1945. It was a series called The Relations of Canada and the United States overseen by James T. Shotwell, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Innis edited and wrote prefaces for the volumes contributed by Canadian scholars. His own study of the cod fisheries also appeared as part of the series. His work with Shotwell enabled Innis to gain access to Carnegie money to further Canadian academic research. As John Watson points out, "the project offered one of the few sources of research funds in rather lean times."
Politics and the Great Depression
The era of the "Dirty Thirties" with its mass unemployment, poverty and despair gave rise to new Canadian political movements. In Alberta, for example, the radio evangelist William "Bible Bill" Aberhart led his populist Social Credit party to victory in 1935. Three years earlier in Calgary, Alberta, social reformers had founded a new political party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It advocated democratic socialism and a mixed economy with public ownership of key industries. Frank Underhill, one of Innis's colleagues at the University of Toronto was a founding member of the CCF. Innis and Underhill had both been members of an earlier group at the university that declared itself "dissatisfied with the policies of the two major [political] parties in Canada" and that aimed at "forming a definite body of progressive opinion." In 1931, Innis presented a paper to the group on "Economic Conditions in Canada", but he later recoiled from participating in party politics, denouncing partisans like Underhill as "hot gospellers."
Innis maintained that scholars had no place in active politics and that they should instead devote themselves, first to research on public problems, and then to the production of knowledge based on critical thought. He saw the university, with its emphasis on dialogue, open-mindedness and skepticism, as an institution that could foster such thinking and research. "The university could provide an environment," he wrote, "as free as possible from the biases of the various institutions that form the state, so that its intellectuals could continue to seek out and explore other perspectives."
Although sympathetic to the plight of western farmers and urban, unemployed workers, Innis did not embrace socialism. Eric Havelock, a left-leaning colleague explained many years later that Innis distrusted political "solutions" imported from elsewhere, especially those based on Marxist analysis with its emphasis on class conflict. He worried, too, that as Canada's ties with Britain weakened, the country would fall under the spell of American ideas instead of developing its own based on Canada's unique circumstances. Havelock added:
He has been called the radical conservative of his day — not a bad designation of a complex mind, clear sighted, cautious, perhaps at bottom pessimistic in areas where thinkers we would label 'progressive' felt less difficulty in taking a stand; never content to select only one or two elements in a complicated equation in order to build a quick-order policy or program; far ranging enough in intellect to take in the whole sum of the factors, and comprehend their often contradictory effects.
Late career and death
In the 1940s, Harold Innis reached the height of his influence in both academic circles and Canadian society. In 1941, he helped establish the American-based Economic History Association and its Journal of Economic History. He later became the association's second president. Innis played a central role in founding two important sources for the funding of academic research: the Canadian Social Science Research Council (1940) and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (1944).
In 1944, the University of New Brunswick awarded Innis an honorary degree, as did his alma mater, McMaster University. Université Laval, the University of Manitoba and the University of Glasgow would also confer honorary degrees in 1947–48.
In 1945, Innis spent nearly a month in the Soviet Union where he had been invited to attend the 220th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the country's Academy of Sciences. Later, in his essay Reflections on Russia, he mused about the differences between the Soviet "producer" economy and the West's "consumer" ethos:
[A]n economy which emphasizes consumer's goods is characterized by communication industries largely dependent on advertising and by constant efforts to reach the largest number of readers or listeners; an economy emphasizing producer's goods is characterized by communications industries largely dependent on government support. As a result of this contrast, a common public opinion in Russia and the West is hard to achieve.
Innis's trip to Moscow and Leningrad came shortly before US–Soviet rivalry led to the hostility of the Cold War. Innis lamented the rise in international tensions. He saw the Soviet Union as a stabilizing counterbalance to the American emphasis on commercialism, the individual and constant change. For Innis, Russia was a society within the Western tradition, not an alien civilization. He abhorred the nuclear arms race and saw it as the triumph of force over knowledge, a modern form of the medieval Inquisition. "The Middle Ages burned its heretics," he wrote, "and the modern age threatens them with atom bombs."
In 1946, Innis was elected president of the Royal Society of Canada, the country's senior body of scientists and scholars. The same year, he served on the Manitoba Royal Commission on Adult Education and published Political Economy in the Modern State, a collection of his speeches and essays that reflected both his staples research and his new work in communications. In 1947, Innis was appointed the University of Toronto's dean of graduate studies. In 1948, he delivered lectures at the University of London and Nottingham University. He also gave the prestigious Beit lectures at Oxford, later published in his book Empire and Communications. In 1949, Innis was appointed as a commissioner on the federal government's Royal Commission on Transportation, a position that involved extensive travel at a time when his health was starting to fail. The last decade of his career, during which he worked on his communications studies, was an unhappy time for Innis. He was academically isolated because his colleagues in economics could not fathom how the new work related to his pioneering research in staples theory. Biographer John Watson writes that "the almost complete lack of positive response to the communications works, contributed to his sense of overwork and depression."
Innis died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1952, a few days after his 58th birthday. In commemoration, Innis College at the University of Toronto and Innis Library at McMaster University were named in his honour.
Following his premature death, Innis' significance increasingly deepened as scholars in several academic disciplines continued to build upon his writings. Marshall Poe's general media theory that proposes two sub-theories were inspired by Innis. Douglas C. North expanded on Innis' "vent for surplus" theory of economic development by applying it to regional development in the United States and underdeveloped countries. In addition, James W. Carey adopted Innis as a "reference point in his conception of two models of communication."
Innis and McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan was a colleague of Innis's at the University of Toronto. As a young English professor, McLuhan was flattered when he learned that Innis had put his book The Mechanical Bride on the reading list of the fourth-year economics course. McLuhan built on Innis's idea that in studying the effects of communications media, technological form mattered more than content. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis's concept of the "bias" of a particular medium of communication can be seen as a "less flamboyant precursor to McLuhan's legendary phrase 'the medium is the message.'" Innis, for example, tried to show how printed media such as books or newspapers were "biased" toward control over space and secular power, while engraved media such as stone or clay tablets were "biased" in favour of continuity in time and metaphysical or religious knowledge. McLuhan focused on what may be called a medium's "sensory bias" arguing, for example, that books and newspapers appealed to the rationality of the eye, while radio played to the irrationality of the ear. The differences in the Innisian and McLuhanesque approaches were summarized by the late James W. Carey:
Both McLuhan and Innis assume the centrality of communication technology; where they differ is in the principal kinds of effects they see deriving from this technology. Whereas Innis sees communication technology principally affecting social organization and culture, McLuhan sees its principal effect on sensory organization and thought. McLuhan has much to say about perception and thought but little to say about institutions; Innis says much about institutions and little about perception and thought.
Biographer John Watson notes that Innis's work was profoundly political while McLuhan's was not. He writes that "the mechanization of knowledge, not the relative sensual bias of media, is the key to Innis's work. That also underlies the politicization of Innis's position vis-a-vis that of McLuhan." Watson adds that Innis believed very different media could produce similar effects. "For Innis, the yellow press of the United States and the Nazi loudspeaker had the same form of negative effect: they reduced men from thinking beings to mere automatons in a chain of command." Watson argues that while McLuhan separated media according to their sensory bias, Innis examined a different set of interrelationships, the "dialectic of power and knowledge" in specific historical circumstances. For Watson, Innis's work is therefore more flexible and less deterministic than McLuhan's.
As scholars and teachers, Innis and McLuhan shared a similar dilemma since both argued that book culture tended to produce fixed points of view and homogeneity of thought; yet both produced many books. In his introduction to the 1964 reprint of The Bias of Communication, McLuhan marvelled at Innis's technique of juxtaposing "his insights in a mosaic structure of seemingly unrelated and disproportioned sentences and aphorisms." McLuhan argued that although that made reading Innis's dense prose difficult ("a pattern of insights that are not packaged for the consumer palate"), Innis's method approximated "the natural form of conversation or dialogue rather than of written discourse." Best of all, it yielded "insight" and "pattern recognition" rather than the "classified knowledge" so overvalued by print-trained scholars. "How exciting it was to encounter a writer whose every phrase invited prolonged meditation and exploration," McLuhan added. McLuhan's own books with their reliance on aphorisms, puns, quips, "probes" and oddly juxtaposed observations also employ that mosaic technique.
Innis's theories of political economy, media and society remain highly relevant: he had a profound influence on critical media theory and communications and, in conjunction with McLuhan, offered groundbreaking Canadian perspectives on the function of communication technologies as key agents in social and historical change. Together, their works advanced a theory of history in which communication is central to social change and transformation.
Selected works
1923. A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Revised edition (1971). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. Revised edition (1956). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. Peter Pond, Fur Trader and Adventurer. Toronto: Irwin & Gordon.
1940. The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1946. Political Economy in the Modern State. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1948. The Diary of Simeon Perkins: 1766–1780. Toronto: Champlain Society. [editor]
1950. Empire and Communications. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1951. The Bias of Communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. The Strategy of Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. Changing Concepts of Time. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1956. Essays in Canadian Economic History, edited by Mary Q. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1980. The Idea File of Harold Adams Innis, edited by William Christian. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
See also
Historiography of Canada
History of communication
History of technology
Innis-Gérin Medal
Metropolitan-hinterland thesis
Monopolies of knowledge
Orality
Technological nationalism
Notes
References
Aitken, Hugh Gj. (1977) "Myth and Measurement-Innis Tradition in Economic-History." Journal of Canadian Studies 12#5 : 96-105.
Babe, Robert. (2000). "The Communication Thought of Harold Adams Innis." In Canadian Communication Thought: Ten Foundational Writers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 51–88.
Berger, Carl. (1976). "Harold Innis: The Search for Limits." In The Writing of Canadian History. Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–111.
Bonnett, John (2013). Emergence and Empire: Innis, Complexity and the Trajectory of History. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
Buxton, William J. (1998) "Harold Innis' excavation of modernity: The newspaper industry, communications, and the decline of public life." Canadian Journal of Communication 23.3 (1998).
Carey, J. W. (1992). "Space, Time and Communications: A Tribute to Harold Innis." In Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. New York: Routledge. pp. 142–72.
Creighton, Donald. (1957). Harold Adams Innis: Portrait of a Scholar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dickason, Olive; MacNab, David. (2009) Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. Fourth Edition. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Easterbrook, W.T. and Watkins, M.H. (1984) "Introduction" and "Part 1: The Staple Approach." In Approaches to Canadian Economic History. Ottawa: The Carleton Library Series. Carleton University Press.
Havelock, Eric. (1982). Harold A. Innis: a memoir (with a preface by H. Marshall McLuhan). Toronto: Harold Innis Foundation.
Heyer, Paul. (2003). Harold Innis. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hutcheson, John. (1982) "Harold Innis and the Unity and Diversity of Confederation," Journal of Canadian Studies 1#1 pp 57–73.
Innis, Mary Quayle. (1935) An Economic History of Canada. Toronto: Ryerson Press.
Kroker, Arthur. (1984). Technology and the Canadian Mind: Innis/McLuhan/Grant. Montreal: New World Perspectives.
McLuhan, Marshall. (2005) "Introduction to the Bias of Communication: [Harold A. Innis first edition 1951.]" In Marshall McLuhan Unbound. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press. v.8.
Neill, Robin. (1972). A New Theory of Value: The Canadian Economics of H.A. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Patterson, Graeme. (1990) History and Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, the Interpretation of History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Vancouver Public Library. (1999) "The Bias of Communication" and "The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History." In Great Canadian Books of the Century. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Watson, Alexander John. (2006). Marginal Man: The Dark Vision of Harold Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
External links
Innis Family, Harold Innis Foundation, and Harold Innis archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
Harold Adams Innis by Robin Neill, EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. January 10, 2005.
Harold Adams Innis: The Bias of Communications & Monopolies of Power by Dr. Marshall Soules, Malaspina University-College, 2007.
Harold Innis and the Press by Robert E. Babe., Fifth-Estate-Online – International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism.
Old Messengers, New Media: The Legacy of Innis and McLuhan, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada.
Harold Adams Innis entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Mary Quayle Innis special collection at the University of Waterloo.
Harold Innis Foundation fonds held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
1894 births
1952 deaths
20th-century Canadian historians
20th-century economists
Canadian agnostics
Canadian economists
Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian political philosophers
Communication theorists
Economic historians
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Historians of Canada
Historians of printing
Literacy and society theorists
McMaster University alumni
McMaster University faculty
North American cultural studies
People from Oxford County, Ontario
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Presidents of the American Economic Association
Theorists on Western civilization
University of Chicago alumni
University of Toronto faculty | true | [
"is a 1995 off-road racing arcade game developed and published by Namco.\n\nGameplay\nDirt Dash is an off-road racing game.\n\nReception\n\nIn Japan, Game Machine listed Dirt Dash on their February 15, 1996 issue as being the third most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month. Next Generation reviewed the arcade version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that \"Essentially, Dirt Dash is to Sega Rally what Tekken is to Virtua Fighter, and with its attractive use of the Super System 22 board, light-sourcing and backgrounds, plus the excellent feel of the cars themselves, Namco has another hit on its hands.\"\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Dirt Dash at Killer List of Videogames\n\n1995 video games\nArcade video games\nArcade-only video games\nNamco arcade games\nRacing video games\nVideo games developed in Japan",
"Dirt Nasty is the self-titled debut album by artist Dirt Nasty, also known as Simon Rex. Dirt Nasty was released by Shoot To Kill Music in association with Myspace Records. The album's most popular track was \"1980,\" which was distributed on MySpace and iTunes. Dirt Nasty is credited as the impetus behind Mickey Avalon's personal rediscovery of, and subsequent success in, hip hop. Mickey Avalon's song \"My Dick\" (featuring Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy) was featured in the 2008 movie Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Droppin' Names\" - 3:35\n \"Can't Get Down\" - 3:28\n \"1980\" - 3:06\n \"Cracker Ass Fantastic\" - 3:27\n \"Too Sexy (ft. Mickey Avalon)\" - 3:16\n \"Baby Dick\" - 2:48\n \"Gotta Leave This Town\" - 2:58\n \"Animal Lover\" - 2:53\n \"Too Short Homage\" - 3:38\n \"Wanna Get High (ft. Andre Legacy)\" - 3:4\n \"True Hollywood Story\" - 3:42. \n \"Mountain Man (ft. Tony Potato)\" - 3:31\n\nCuriosity\nThe song \"1980\" starts off with the phrase \"What happened to your queer party friends?\" This quote is said by Jack Nicholson in the film As Good as It Gets which was released in 1997.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nDirt Nasty official site\nDirt Nasty by Dirt Nasty: Reviews and ratings at Rate Your Music\nDirt Nasty MySpace profile\nShoot To Kill Music's label page at Discogs\n\n2007 debut albums\nSimon Rex albums"
]
|
[
"Harold Innis",
"\"Dirt\" research",
"What is dirt research?",
"gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called \"dirt\" experience."
]
| C_8313ede8658048b1bfa342c647b62f91_1 | What kind of information was he gathering? | 2 | What kind of information was Harold Innis gathering while doing dirt research? | Harold Innis | Harold Adams Innis was born in 1894 on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him 'Herald', hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist Church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the Church: The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville. Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled 20 miles (32 km) by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him. Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West. Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent". As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result. Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence". It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that this National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada", Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement." In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he would not only need to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade, but would also have to travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience. Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay. Everywhere Innis went his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories. CANNOTANSWER | archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade, | Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 9, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition.
Innis's writings on communication explore the role of media in shaping the culture and development of civilizations. He argued, for example, that a balance between oral and written forms of communication contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization in the 5th century BC. He warned, however, that Western civilization is now imperiled by powerful, advertising-driven media obsessed by "present-mindedness" and the "continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity." His intellectual bond with Eric A. Havelock formed the foundations of the Toronto School of communication theory, which provided a source of inspiration for future members of the school: Marshall McLuhan and Edmund Snow Carpenter.
Innis laid the basis for scholarship that looked at the social sciences from a distinctly Canadian point of view. As the head of the University of Toronto's political economy department, he worked to build up a cadre of Canadian scholars so that universities would not continue to rely as heavily on British or American-trained professors unfamiliar with Canada's history and culture. He was successful in establishing sources of financing for Canadian scholarly research.
As the Cold War grew hotter after 1947, Innis grew increasingly hostile to the United States. He warned repeatedly that Canada was becoming a subservient colony to its much more powerful southern neighbor. "We are indeed fighting for our lives," he warned, pointing especially to the "pernicious influence of American advertising.... We can only survive by taking persistent action at strategic points against American imperialism in all its attractive guises." His views influenced some younger scholars, including Donald Creighton.
Innis also tried to defend universities from political and economic pressures. He believed that independent universities, as centres of critical thought, were essential to the survival of Western civilization. His intellectual disciple and university colleague, Marshall McLuhan, lamented Innis's premature death as a disastrous loss for human understanding. McLuhan wrote: "I am pleased to think of my own book The Gutenberg Galaxy as a footnote to the observations of Innis on the subject of the psychic and social consequences, first of writing then of printing."
Rural roots
Early life
Innis was born on November 5, 1894, on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him Herald, hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the church:
The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville.
Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him.
University studies
In October 1913, Innis started classes at McMaster University (then in Toronto). McMaster was a natural choice for him because it was a Baptist university and many students who attended Woodstock College went there. McMaster's liberal arts professors encouraged critical thinking and debate. Innis was especially influenced by , the university's one-man philosophy department. Ten Broeke posed an essay question that Innis pondered for the rest of his life: "Why do we attend to the things to which we attend?"
Before his final undergraduate year at McMaster, Innis spent a summer teaching at the Northern Star School in the frontier farming community of Landonville near Vermilion, Alberta. The experience gave him a sense of the vastness of Canada. He also learned about Western grievances over high interest rates and steep transportation costs. In his final undergraduate year, Innis focused on history and economics. He kept in mind a remark made by history lecturer W. S. Wallace that the economic interpretation of history was not the only possible one but that it went the deepest.
First World War service
After graduating from McMaster, Innis felt that his Christian principles compelled him to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent to France in the fall of 1916 to fight in the First World War. Trench warfare with its "mud and lice and rats" had a devastating effect on him.
Innis's role as an artillery signaller gave him firsthand experience of life (and death) on the front lines as he participated in the successful Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge. Signallers, or spotters, watched where each artillery shell landed, then sent back aiming corrections so that the next shells could hit their targets more accurately. On July 7, 1917, Innis received a serious shrapnel wound in his right thigh that required eight months of hospital treatment in England.
Innis's war was over. His biographer, John Watson, notes the physical wound took seven years to heal, but the psychological damage lasted a lifetime. Innis suffered recurring bouts of depression and nervous exhaustion because of his military service.
Watson also notes that the Great War influenced Innis's intellectual outlook. It strengthened his Canadian nationalism; sharpened his opinion of what he thought were the destructive effects of technology, including the communications media that were used so effectively to "sell" the war; and led him, for the first time, to doubt his Baptist faith.
Graduate studies
McMaster and Chicago
Harold Innis completed a Master of Arts degree at McMaster, graduating in April 1918. His thesis, called The Returned Soldier, "was a detailed description of the public policy measures that were necessary, not only to provide a supportive milieu to help veterans get over the effects of the war, but also to move on with national reconstruction."
Innis did his postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and was awarded his PhD, with a dissertation on the history of Canadian Pacific Railway, in August 1920. His two years at Chicago had a profound influence on his later work. His interest in economics deepened and he decided to become a professional economist. The economics faculty at Chicago questioned abstract and universalist neoclassical theories, then in vogue, arguing that general rules for economic policy should be derived from specific case studies.
Innis was influenced by the university's two eminent communications scholars, George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park. Although he did not attend any of those famous professors' classes, Innis did absorb their idea that communication involved much more than the transmission of information. James W. Carey writes that Mead and Park "characterized communication as the entire process whereby a culture is brought into existence, maintained in time, and sedimented into institutions."
While at Chicago, Innis was exposed to the ideas of Thorstein Veblen, the iconoclastic thinker who drew on his deep knowledge of philosophy and economics to write scathing critiques of contemporary thought and culture. Veblen had left Chicago years before, but his ideas were still strongly felt there. Years later, in an essay on Veblen, Innis praised him for waging war against "standardized static economics."
Innis got his first taste of university teaching at Chicago, where he delivered several introductory economics courses. One of his students was Mary Quayle, the woman he would marry in May 1921 when he was 26 and she 22. Together they had four children, Donald (1924), Mary (1927), Hugh (1930), and Anne (1933). Mary Quayle Innis was herself a notable economist and writer. Her book, An Economic History of Canada, was published in 1935. Her novel, Stand on a Rainbow appeared in 1943. Her other books include Mrs. Simcoe's Diary (1965), The Clear Spirit: Canadian Women and Their Times (1966) and Unfold the Years (1949), a history of the Young Women's Christian Association. She also edited Harold Innis's posthumous Essays in Canadian Economic History (1956) and a 1972 reissue of his Empire and Communications.
Donald Quayle Innis became a geography professor at the State University of New York, Mary married a surgeon and did graduate work in French literature, Hugh Innis became a professor at Ryerson University where he taught communications and economics, Anne Innis Dagg did doctoral work in biology and became an advisor for the independent studies program at the University of Waterloo and published books on zoology, feminism, and Canadian women's history.
History of the CPR
Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West.
Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent." As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result.
Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence." It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that the National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada," Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement."
Staples thesis
Harold Innis is considered the leading founder of a Canadian school of economic thought known as the staples theory. It holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively shaped by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, wood, wheat, mined metals and fossil fuels. Innis theorized that the reliance on exporting natural resources made Canada dependent on more industrially advanced countries and resulted in periodic disruptions to economic life as the international demand for staples rose and fell; as the staple itself became increasingly scarce; and, as technological change resulted in shifts from one staple to others. Innis pointed out, for example, that as furs became scarce and trade in that staple declined, it became necessary to develop and export other staples such as wheat, potash and especially lumber. The export of the new staples was made possible through improved transportation networks that included first canals and later railways.
"Dirt" research
In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he had to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade and also travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience.
Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay.
Everywhere that Innis went, his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories.
Fur trade in Canada
Harold Innis's interest in the relationship between empires and colonies was developed in his classic study, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930). The book chronicles the trade in beaver fur from the early 16th century to the 1920s. Instead of focusing on the "heroic" European adventurers who explored the Canadian wilderness as conventional histories had done, Innis documents how the interplay of geography, technology and economic forces shaped both the fur trade and Canada's political and economic destiny. He argues that the fur trade largely determined Canada's boundaries, and he comes to the conclusion that the country "emerged not in spite of geography but because of it."
In line with that observation, Innis notably proposes that European settlement of the Saint Lawrence River Valley followed the economic and social patterns of indigenous peoples, making for a Canadian historical and cultural continuity that predates and postdates European settlement. Unlike many historians who see Canadian history as beginning with the arrival of Europeans, Innis emphasizes the cultural and economic contributions of First Nations peoples. "We have not yet realized," he writes, "that the Indian and his culture was fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions."
The Innisian perspective on the development of Canadian political, economic and social institutions was an early form of neo-institutionalism, which became an accepted part of the Canadian political science tradition well before American and European counterparts. The Fur Trade in Canada concludes by arguing that Canadian economic history can best be understood by examining how one staple product gave way to another—furs to timber, for example, and the later importance of wheat and minerals. Reliance on staples made Canada economically dependent on more industrially advanced countries and the "cyclonic" shifts from one staple to another caused frequent disruptions in the country's economic life.
The Fur Trade in Canada also describes the cultural interactions among three groups of people: the Europeans in fashionable metropolitan centres who regarded beaver hats as luxury items; the European colonial settlers who saw beaver fur as a staple that could be exported to pay for essential manufactured goods from the home country, and First Nations peoples who traded furs for industrial goods such as metal pots, knives, guns and liquor. Innis describes the central role First Nations peoples played in the development of the fur trade. Without their skilled hunting techniques, knowledge of the territory and advanced tools such as snowshoes, toboggans and birch-bark canoes, the fur trade would not have existed. However, dependence on European technologies disrupted First Nations societies. "The new technology with its radical innovations," Innis writes, "brought about such a rapid shift in the prevailing Indian culture as to lead to wholesale destruction of the peoples concerned by warfare and disease." Historian Carl Berger argues that by placing First Nations culture at the centre of his analysis of the fur trade, Innis "was the first to explain adequately the disintegration of native society under the thrust of European capitalism."
Cod fishery
After the publication of his book on the fur trade, Innis turned to a study of an earlier staple, the cod fished for centuries off the eastern coasts of North America, especially the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The result was The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy published in 1940, 10 years after the fur trade study. Innis tells the detailed history of competing empires in the exploitation of a teeming natural resource, a history that ranges over 500 years. While his study of the fur trade focused on the continental interior with its interlocking rivers and lakes, The Cod Fisheries looks outward at global trade and empire, showing the far-reaching effects of one staple product both on imperial centres and on marginal colonies such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England.
Communications theories
Innis's study of the effects of interconnected lakes and rivers on Canadian development and European empire sparked his interest in the complex economic and cultural relationships between transportation systems and communications. During the 1940s, Innis also began studying pulp and paper, an industry of central importance to the Canadian economy. The research provided an additional crossover point from his work on staple products to his communications studies. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis "followed pulp and paper through its subsequent stages: newspapers and journalism, books and advertising. In other words, from looking at a natural resource-based industry he turned his attention to a cultural industry in which information, and ultimately knowledge, was a commodity that circulated, had value, and empowered those who controlled it."
One of Innis's primary contributions to communications studies was to apply the dimensions of time and space to various media. He divided media into time-binding and space-binding types. Time-binding media are durable and include clay or stone tablets. Space-binding media are more ephemeral and include modern media such as radio, television, and mass circulation newspapers.
Innis examined the rise and fall of ancient empires as a way of tracing the effects of communications media. He looked at media that led to the growth of an empire; those that sustained it during its periods of success, and then, the communications changes that hastened an empire's collapse. He tried to show that media 'biases' toward time or space affected the complex interrelationships needed to sustain an empire. The interrelationships included the partnership between the knowledge (and ideas) necessary to create and maintain an empire and the power (or force) required to expand and defend it. For Innis, the interplay between knowledge and power was always a crucial factor in understanding empire.
Innis argued that a balance between the spoken word and writing contributed to the flourishing of Ancient Greece in the time of Plato. The balance between the time-biased medium of speech and the space-biased medium of writing was eventually upset, Innis argued, as the oral tradition gave way to the dominance of writing. The torch of empire then passed from Greece to Rome.
Innis's analysis of the effects of communications on the rise and fall of empires led him to warn grimly that Western civilization was now facing its own profound crisis. The development of powerful communications media such as mass-circulation newspapers had shifted the balance decisively in favour of space and power, over time, continuity and knowledge. The balance required for cultural survival had been upset by what Innis saw as "mechanized" communications media used to transmit information quickly over long distances. The new media had contributed to an obsession with "present-mindedness", wiping out concerns about past or future. Innis wrote,
The overwhelming pressure of mechanization evident in the newspaper and the magazine, has led to the creation of vast monopolies of communication. Their entrenched positions involve a continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity.
Western civilization could be saved, Innis argued, only by recovering the balance between space and time. For him, that meant reinvigorating the oral tradition within universities while freeing institutions of higher learning from political and commercial pressures. In his essay, A Plea for Time, he suggested that genuine dialogue within universities could produce the critical thinking necessary to restore the balance between power and knowledge. Then, universities could muster the courage to attack the monopolies that always imperil civilization.
Although Innis remains appreciated and respected for the grand and unique nature of his later efforts regarding communications theories, he was not without critics. Particularly, the fragmentary and mosaic writing style exemplified in Empire and Communications has been criticized as ambiguous, aggressively nonlinear, and lacking connections between levels of analysis. Biographers have suggested that the style may have been a result of Innis's illness late in his career.
Academic and public career
Influence in the 1930s
Aside from his work on The Cod Fisheries, Innis wrote extensively in the 1930s about other staple products such as minerals and wheat as well as Canada's immense economic problems in the Great Depression. During the summers of 1932 and 1933, he travelled to the West to see the effects of the Depression for himself. The next year, in an essay entitled, The Canadian Economy and the Depression, Innis outlined the plight of "a country susceptible to the slightest ground-swell of international disturbance" but beset by regional differences that made it difficult to devise effective solutions. He described a prairie economy dependent on the export of wheat but afflicted by severe drought, on the one hand, and the increased political power of Canada's growing cities, sheltered from direct reliance on the staples trade, on the other. The result was political conflict and a breakdown in federal–provincial relations. "We lack vital information on which to base prospective policies to meet this situation," Innis warned, because of "the weak position of the social sciences in Canada."
Innis's reputation as a public intellectual was growing steadily and, in 1934, Premier Angus Lewis Macdonald invited him to serve on a Royal Commission to examine Nova Scotia's economic problems. The next year, he helped establish The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. In 1936, he was appointed a full University of Toronto professor and a year later, became the head of the university's Department of Political Economy.
Innis was appointed president of the Canadian Political Science Association in 1938. His inaugural address, The Penetrative Powers of the Price System, must have baffled his listeners as he ranged over centuries of economic history jumping abruptly from one topic to the next linking monetary developments to patterns of trade and settlement. The address was an ambitious attempt to show the disruptive effects of new technologies culminating in the modern shift from an industrial system based on coal and iron to the newest sources of industrial power, electricity, oil, and steel. Innis also tried to show the commercial effects of mass circulation newspapers, made possible by expanded newsprint production, and of the new medium of radio, which "threatens to circumvent the walls imposed by tariffs and to reach across boundaries frequently denied to other media of communication." Both media, Innis argued, stimulated the demand for consumer goods and both promoted nationalism.
Innis was also a central participant in an international project that produced 25 scholarly volumes between 1936 and 1945. It was a series called The Relations of Canada and the United States overseen by James T. Shotwell, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Innis edited and wrote prefaces for the volumes contributed by Canadian scholars. His own study of the cod fisheries also appeared as part of the series. His work with Shotwell enabled Innis to gain access to Carnegie money to further Canadian academic research. As John Watson points out, "the project offered one of the few sources of research funds in rather lean times."
Politics and the Great Depression
The era of the "Dirty Thirties" with its mass unemployment, poverty and despair gave rise to new Canadian political movements. In Alberta, for example, the radio evangelist William "Bible Bill" Aberhart led his populist Social Credit party to victory in 1935. Three years earlier in Calgary, Alberta, social reformers had founded a new political party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It advocated democratic socialism and a mixed economy with public ownership of key industries. Frank Underhill, one of Innis's colleagues at the University of Toronto was a founding member of the CCF. Innis and Underhill had both been members of an earlier group at the university that declared itself "dissatisfied with the policies of the two major [political] parties in Canada" and that aimed at "forming a definite body of progressive opinion." In 1931, Innis presented a paper to the group on "Economic Conditions in Canada", but he later recoiled from participating in party politics, denouncing partisans like Underhill as "hot gospellers."
Innis maintained that scholars had no place in active politics and that they should instead devote themselves, first to research on public problems, and then to the production of knowledge based on critical thought. He saw the university, with its emphasis on dialogue, open-mindedness and skepticism, as an institution that could foster such thinking and research. "The university could provide an environment," he wrote, "as free as possible from the biases of the various institutions that form the state, so that its intellectuals could continue to seek out and explore other perspectives."
Although sympathetic to the plight of western farmers and urban, unemployed workers, Innis did not embrace socialism. Eric Havelock, a left-leaning colleague explained many years later that Innis distrusted political "solutions" imported from elsewhere, especially those based on Marxist analysis with its emphasis on class conflict. He worried, too, that as Canada's ties with Britain weakened, the country would fall under the spell of American ideas instead of developing its own based on Canada's unique circumstances. Havelock added:
He has been called the radical conservative of his day — not a bad designation of a complex mind, clear sighted, cautious, perhaps at bottom pessimistic in areas where thinkers we would label 'progressive' felt less difficulty in taking a stand; never content to select only one or two elements in a complicated equation in order to build a quick-order policy or program; far ranging enough in intellect to take in the whole sum of the factors, and comprehend their often contradictory effects.
Late career and death
In the 1940s, Harold Innis reached the height of his influence in both academic circles and Canadian society. In 1941, he helped establish the American-based Economic History Association and its Journal of Economic History. He later became the association's second president. Innis played a central role in founding two important sources for the funding of academic research: the Canadian Social Science Research Council (1940) and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (1944).
In 1944, the University of New Brunswick awarded Innis an honorary degree, as did his alma mater, McMaster University. Université Laval, the University of Manitoba and the University of Glasgow would also confer honorary degrees in 1947–48.
In 1945, Innis spent nearly a month in the Soviet Union where he had been invited to attend the 220th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the country's Academy of Sciences. Later, in his essay Reflections on Russia, he mused about the differences between the Soviet "producer" economy and the West's "consumer" ethos:
[A]n economy which emphasizes consumer's goods is characterized by communication industries largely dependent on advertising and by constant efforts to reach the largest number of readers or listeners; an economy emphasizing producer's goods is characterized by communications industries largely dependent on government support. As a result of this contrast, a common public opinion in Russia and the West is hard to achieve.
Innis's trip to Moscow and Leningrad came shortly before US–Soviet rivalry led to the hostility of the Cold War. Innis lamented the rise in international tensions. He saw the Soviet Union as a stabilizing counterbalance to the American emphasis on commercialism, the individual and constant change. For Innis, Russia was a society within the Western tradition, not an alien civilization. He abhorred the nuclear arms race and saw it as the triumph of force over knowledge, a modern form of the medieval Inquisition. "The Middle Ages burned its heretics," he wrote, "and the modern age threatens them with atom bombs."
In 1946, Innis was elected president of the Royal Society of Canada, the country's senior body of scientists and scholars. The same year, he served on the Manitoba Royal Commission on Adult Education and published Political Economy in the Modern State, a collection of his speeches and essays that reflected both his staples research and his new work in communications. In 1947, Innis was appointed the University of Toronto's dean of graduate studies. In 1948, he delivered lectures at the University of London and Nottingham University. He also gave the prestigious Beit lectures at Oxford, later published in his book Empire and Communications. In 1949, Innis was appointed as a commissioner on the federal government's Royal Commission on Transportation, a position that involved extensive travel at a time when his health was starting to fail. The last decade of his career, during which he worked on his communications studies, was an unhappy time for Innis. He was academically isolated because his colleagues in economics could not fathom how the new work related to his pioneering research in staples theory. Biographer John Watson writes that "the almost complete lack of positive response to the communications works, contributed to his sense of overwork and depression."
Innis died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1952, a few days after his 58th birthday. In commemoration, Innis College at the University of Toronto and Innis Library at McMaster University were named in his honour.
Following his premature death, Innis' significance increasingly deepened as scholars in several academic disciplines continued to build upon his writings. Marshall Poe's general media theory that proposes two sub-theories were inspired by Innis. Douglas C. North expanded on Innis' "vent for surplus" theory of economic development by applying it to regional development in the United States and underdeveloped countries. In addition, James W. Carey adopted Innis as a "reference point in his conception of two models of communication."
Innis and McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan was a colleague of Innis's at the University of Toronto. As a young English professor, McLuhan was flattered when he learned that Innis had put his book The Mechanical Bride on the reading list of the fourth-year economics course. McLuhan built on Innis's idea that in studying the effects of communications media, technological form mattered more than content. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis's concept of the "bias" of a particular medium of communication can be seen as a "less flamboyant precursor to McLuhan's legendary phrase 'the medium is the message.'" Innis, for example, tried to show how printed media such as books or newspapers were "biased" toward control over space and secular power, while engraved media such as stone or clay tablets were "biased" in favour of continuity in time and metaphysical or religious knowledge. McLuhan focused on what may be called a medium's "sensory bias" arguing, for example, that books and newspapers appealed to the rationality of the eye, while radio played to the irrationality of the ear. The differences in the Innisian and McLuhanesque approaches were summarized by the late James W. Carey:
Both McLuhan and Innis assume the centrality of communication technology; where they differ is in the principal kinds of effects they see deriving from this technology. Whereas Innis sees communication technology principally affecting social organization and culture, McLuhan sees its principal effect on sensory organization and thought. McLuhan has much to say about perception and thought but little to say about institutions; Innis says much about institutions and little about perception and thought.
Biographer John Watson notes that Innis's work was profoundly political while McLuhan's was not. He writes that "the mechanization of knowledge, not the relative sensual bias of media, is the key to Innis's work. That also underlies the politicization of Innis's position vis-a-vis that of McLuhan." Watson adds that Innis believed very different media could produce similar effects. "For Innis, the yellow press of the United States and the Nazi loudspeaker had the same form of negative effect: they reduced men from thinking beings to mere automatons in a chain of command." Watson argues that while McLuhan separated media according to their sensory bias, Innis examined a different set of interrelationships, the "dialectic of power and knowledge" in specific historical circumstances. For Watson, Innis's work is therefore more flexible and less deterministic than McLuhan's.
As scholars and teachers, Innis and McLuhan shared a similar dilemma since both argued that book culture tended to produce fixed points of view and homogeneity of thought; yet both produced many books. In his introduction to the 1964 reprint of The Bias of Communication, McLuhan marvelled at Innis's technique of juxtaposing "his insights in a mosaic structure of seemingly unrelated and disproportioned sentences and aphorisms." McLuhan argued that although that made reading Innis's dense prose difficult ("a pattern of insights that are not packaged for the consumer palate"), Innis's method approximated "the natural form of conversation or dialogue rather than of written discourse." Best of all, it yielded "insight" and "pattern recognition" rather than the "classified knowledge" so overvalued by print-trained scholars. "How exciting it was to encounter a writer whose every phrase invited prolonged meditation and exploration," McLuhan added. McLuhan's own books with their reliance on aphorisms, puns, quips, "probes" and oddly juxtaposed observations also employ that mosaic technique.
Innis's theories of political economy, media and society remain highly relevant: he had a profound influence on critical media theory and communications and, in conjunction with McLuhan, offered groundbreaking Canadian perspectives on the function of communication technologies as key agents in social and historical change. Together, their works advanced a theory of history in which communication is central to social change and transformation.
Selected works
1923. A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Revised edition (1971). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. Revised edition (1956). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. Peter Pond, Fur Trader and Adventurer. Toronto: Irwin & Gordon.
1940. The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1946. Political Economy in the Modern State. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1948. The Diary of Simeon Perkins: 1766–1780. Toronto: Champlain Society. [editor]
1950. Empire and Communications. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1951. The Bias of Communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. The Strategy of Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. Changing Concepts of Time. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1956. Essays in Canadian Economic History, edited by Mary Q. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1980. The Idea File of Harold Adams Innis, edited by William Christian. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
See also
Historiography of Canada
History of communication
History of technology
Innis-Gérin Medal
Metropolitan-hinterland thesis
Monopolies of knowledge
Orality
Technological nationalism
Notes
References
Aitken, Hugh Gj. (1977) "Myth and Measurement-Innis Tradition in Economic-History." Journal of Canadian Studies 12#5 : 96-105.
Babe, Robert. (2000). "The Communication Thought of Harold Adams Innis." In Canadian Communication Thought: Ten Foundational Writers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 51–88.
Berger, Carl. (1976). "Harold Innis: The Search for Limits." In The Writing of Canadian History. Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–111.
Bonnett, John (2013). Emergence and Empire: Innis, Complexity and the Trajectory of History. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
Buxton, William J. (1998) "Harold Innis' excavation of modernity: The newspaper industry, communications, and the decline of public life." Canadian Journal of Communication 23.3 (1998).
Carey, J. W. (1992). "Space, Time and Communications: A Tribute to Harold Innis." In Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. New York: Routledge. pp. 142–72.
Creighton, Donald. (1957). Harold Adams Innis: Portrait of a Scholar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dickason, Olive; MacNab, David. (2009) Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. Fourth Edition. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Easterbrook, W.T. and Watkins, M.H. (1984) "Introduction" and "Part 1: The Staple Approach." In Approaches to Canadian Economic History. Ottawa: The Carleton Library Series. Carleton University Press.
Havelock, Eric. (1982). Harold A. Innis: a memoir (with a preface by H. Marshall McLuhan). Toronto: Harold Innis Foundation.
Heyer, Paul. (2003). Harold Innis. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hutcheson, John. (1982) "Harold Innis and the Unity and Diversity of Confederation," Journal of Canadian Studies 1#1 pp 57–73.
Innis, Mary Quayle. (1935) An Economic History of Canada. Toronto: Ryerson Press.
Kroker, Arthur. (1984). Technology and the Canadian Mind: Innis/McLuhan/Grant. Montreal: New World Perspectives.
McLuhan, Marshall. (2005) "Introduction to the Bias of Communication: [Harold A. Innis first edition 1951.]" In Marshall McLuhan Unbound. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press. v.8.
Neill, Robin. (1972). A New Theory of Value: The Canadian Economics of H.A. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Patterson, Graeme. (1990) History and Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, the Interpretation of History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Vancouver Public Library. (1999) "The Bias of Communication" and "The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History." In Great Canadian Books of the Century. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Watson, Alexander John. (2006). Marginal Man: The Dark Vision of Harold Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
External links
Innis Family, Harold Innis Foundation, and Harold Innis archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
Harold Adams Innis by Robin Neill, EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. January 10, 2005.
Harold Adams Innis: The Bias of Communications & Monopolies of Power by Dr. Marshall Soules, Malaspina University-College, 2007.
Harold Innis and the Press by Robert E. Babe., Fifth-Estate-Online – International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism.
Old Messengers, New Media: The Legacy of Innis and McLuhan, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada.
Harold Adams Innis entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Mary Quayle Innis special collection at the University of Waterloo.
Harold Innis Foundation fonds held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
1894 births
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20th-century Canadian historians
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Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian political philosophers
Communication theorists
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Historians of Canada
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]
| C_8313ede8658048b1bfa342c647b62f91_1 | When did he start? | 3 | When did Harold Innis start his dirt research? | Harold Innis | Harold Adams Innis was born in 1894 on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him 'Herald', hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist Church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the Church: The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville. Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled 20 miles (32 km) by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him. Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West. Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent". As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result. Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence". It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that this National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada", Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement." In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he would not only need to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade, but would also have to travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience. Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay. Everywhere Innis went his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories. CANNOTANSWER | Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 | Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 9, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition.
Innis's writings on communication explore the role of media in shaping the culture and development of civilizations. He argued, for example, that a balance between oral and written forms of communication contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization in the 5th century BC. He warned, however, that Western civilization is now imperiled by powerful, advertising-driven media obsessed by "present-mindedness" and the "continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity." His intellectual bond with Eric A. Havelock formed the foundations of the Toronto School of communication theory, which provided a source of inspiration for future members of the school: Marshall McLuhan and Edmund Snow Carpenter.
Innis laid the basis for scholarship that looked at the social sciences from a distinctly Canadian point of view. As the head of the University of Toronto's political economy department, he worked to build up a cadre of Canadian scholars so that universities would not continue to rely as heavily on British or American-trained professors unfamiliar with Canada's history and culture. He was successful in establishing sources of financing for Canadian scholarly research.
As the Cold War grew hotter after 1947, Innis grew increasingly hostile to the United States. He warned repeatedly that Canada was becoming a subservient colony to its much more powerful southern neighbor. "We are indeed fighting for our lives," he warned, pointing especially to the "pernicious influence of American advertising.... We can only survive by taking persistent action at strategic points against American imperialism in all its attractive guises." His views influenced some younger scholars, including Donald Creighton.
Innis also tried to defend universities from political and economic pressures. He believed that independent universities, as centres of critical thought, were essential to the survival of Western civilization. His intellectual disciple and university colleague, Marshall McLuhan, lamented Innis's premature death as a disastrous loss for human understanding. McLuhan wrote: "I am pleased to think of my own book The Gutenberg Galaxy as a footnote to the observations of Innis on the subject of the psychic and social consequences, first of writing then of printing."
Rural roots
Early life
Innis was born on November 5, 1894, on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him Herald, hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the church:
The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville.
Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him.
University studies
In October 1913, Innis started classes at McMaster University (then in Toronto). McMaster was a natural choice for him because it was a Baptist university and many students who attended Woodstock College went there. McMaster's liberal arts professors encouraged critical thinking and debate. Innis was especially influenced by , the university's one-man philosophy department. Ten Broeke posed an essay question that Innis pondered for the rest of his life: "Why do we attend to the things to which we attend?"
Before his final undergraduate year at McMaster, Innis spent a summer teaching at the Northern Star School in the frontier farming community of Landonville near Vermilion, Alberta. The experience gave him a sense of the vastness of Canada. He also learned about Western grievances over high interest rates and steep transportation costs. In his final undergraduate year, Innis focused on history and economics. He kept in mind a remark made by history lecturer W. S. Wallace that the economic interpretation of history was not the only possible one but that it went the deepest.
First World War service
After graduating from McMaster, Innis felt that his Christian principles compelled him to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent to France in the fall of 1916 to fight in the First World War. Trench warfare with its "mud and lice and rats" had a devastating effect on him.
Innis's role as an artillery signaller gave him firsthand experience of life (and death) on the front lines as he participated in the successful Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge. Signallers, or spotters, watched where each artillery shell landed, then sent back aiming corrections so that the next shells could hit their targets more accurately. On July 7, 1917, Innis received a serious shrapnel wound in his right thigh that required eight months of hospital treatment in England.
Innis's war was over. His biographer, John Watson, notes the physical wound took seven years to heal, but the psychological damage lasted a lifetime. Innis suffered recurring bouts of depression and nervous exhaustion because of his military service.
Watson also notes that the Great War influenced Innis's intellectual outlook. It strengthened his Canadian nationalism; sharpened his opinion of what he thought were the destructive effects of technology, including the communications media that were used so effectively to "sell" the war; and led him, for the first time, to doubt his Baptist faith.
Graduate studies
McMaster and Chicago
Harold Innis completed a Master of Arts degree at McMaster, graduating in April 1918. His thesis, called The Returned Soldier, "was a detailed description of the public policy measures that were necessary, not only to provide a supportive milieu to help veterans get over the effects of the war, but also to move on with national reconstruction."
Innis did his postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and was awarded his PhD, with a dissertation on the history of Canadian Pacific Railway, in August 1920. His two years at Chicago had a profound influence on his later work. His interest in economics deepened and he decided to become a professional economist. The economics faculty at Chicago questioned abstract and universalist neoclassical theories, then in vogue, arguing that general rules for economic policy should be derived from specific case studies.
Innis was influenced by the university's two eminent communications scholars, George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park. Although he did not attend any of those famous professors' classes, Innis did absorb their idea that communication involved much more than the transmission of information. James W. Carey writes that Mead and Park "characterized communication as the entire process whereby a culture is brought into existence, maintained in time, and sedimented into institutions."
While at Chicago, Innis was exposed to the ideas of Thorstein Veblen, the iconoclastic thinker who drew on his deep knowledge of philosophy and economics to write scathing critiques of contemporary thought and culture. Veblen had left Chicago years before, but his ideas were still strongly felt there. Years later, in an essay on Veblen, Innis praised him for waging war against "standardized static economics."
Innis got his first taste of university teaching at Chicago, where he delivered several introductory economics courses. One of his students was Mary Quayle, the woman he would marry in May 1921 when he was 26 and she 22. Together they had four children, Donald (1924), Mary (1927), Hugh (1930), and Anne (1933). Mary Quayle Innis was herself a notable economist and writer. Her book, An Economic History of Canada, was published in 1935. Her novel, Stand on a Rainbow appeared in 1943. Her other books include Mrs. Simcoe's Diary (1965), The Clear Spirit: Canadian Women and Their Times (1966) and Unfold the Years (1949), a history of the Young Women's Christian Association. She also edited Harold Innis's posthumous Essays in Canadian Economic History (1956) and a 1972 reissue of his Empire and Communications.
Donald Quayle Innis became a geography professor at the State University of New York, Mary married a surgeon and did graduate work in French literature, Hugh Innis became a professor at Ryerson University where he taught communications and economics, Anne Innis Dagg did doctoral work in biology and became an advisor for the independent studies program at the University of Waterloo and published books on zoology, feminism, and Canadian women's history.
History of the CPR
Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West.
Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent." As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result.
Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence." It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that the National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada," Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement."
Staples thesis
Harold Innis is considered the leading founder of a Canadian school of economic thought known as the staples theory. It holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively shaped by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, wood, wheat, mined metals and fossil fuels. Innis theorized that the reliance on exporting natural resources made Canada dependent on more industrially advanced countries and resulted in periodic disruptions to economic life as the international demand for staples rose and fell; as the staple itself became increasingly scarce; and, as technological change resulted in shifts from one staple to others. Innis pointed out, for example, that as furs became scarce and trade in that staple declined, it became necessary to develop and export other staples such as wheat, potash and especially lumber. The export of the new staples was made possible through improved transportation networks that included first canals and later railways.
"Dirt" research
In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he had to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade and also travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience.
Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay.
Everywhere that Innis went, his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories.
Fur trade in Canada
Harold Innis's interest in the relationship between empires and colonies was developed in his classic study, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930). The book chronicles the trade in beaver fur from the early 16th century to the 1920s. Instead of focusing on the "heroic" European adventurers who explored the Canadian wilderness as conventional histories had done, Innis documents how the interplay of geography, technology and economic forces shaped both the fur trade and Canada's political and economic destiny. He argues that the fur trade largely determined Canada's boundaries, and he comes to the conclusion that the country "emerged not in spite of geography but because of it."
In line with that observation, Innis notably proposes that European settlement of the Saint Lawrence River Valley followed the economic and social patterns of indigenous peoples, making for a Canadian historical and cultural continuity that predates and postdates European settlement. Unlike many historians who see Canadian history as beginning with the arrival of Europeans, Innis emphasizes the cultural and economic contributions of First Nations peoples. "We have not yet realized," he writes, "that the Indian and his culture was fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions."
The Innisian perspective on the development of Canadian political, economic and social institutions was an early form of neo-institutionalism, which became an accepted part of the Canadian political science tradition well before American and European counterparts. The Fur Trade in Canada concludes by arguing that Canadian economic history can best be understood by examining how one staple product gave way to another—furs to timber, for example, and the later importance of wheat and minerals. Reliance on staples made Canada economically dependent on more industrially advanced countries and the "cyclonic" shifts from one staple to another caused frequent disruptions in the country's economic life.
The Fur Trade in Canada also describes the cultural interactions among three groups of people: the Europeans in fashionable metropolitan centres who regarded beaver hats as luxury items; the European colonial settlers who saw beaver fur as a staple that could be exported to pay for essential manufactured goods from the home country, and First Nations peoples who traded furs for industrial goods such as metal pots, knives, guns and liquor. Innis describes the central role First Nations peoples played in the development of the fur trade. Without their skilled hunting techniques, knowledge of the territory and advanced tools such as snowshoes, toboggans and birch-bark canoes, the fur trade would not have existed. However, dependence on European technologies disrupted First Nations societies. "The new technology with its radical innovations," Innis writes, "brought about such a rapid shift in the prevailing Indian culture as to lead to wholesale destruction of the peoples concerned by warfare and disease." Historian Carl Berger argues that by placing First Nations culture at the centre of his analysis of the fur trade, Innis "was the first to explain adequately the disintegration of native society under the thrust of European capitalism."
Cod fishery
After the publication of his book on the fur trade, Innis turned to a study of an earlier staple, the cod fished for centuries off the eastern coasts of North America, especially the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The result was The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy published in 1940, 10 years after the fur trade study. Innis tells the detailed history of competing empires in the exploitation of a teeming natural resource, a history that ranges over 500 years. While his study of the fur trade focused on the continental interior with its interlocking rivers and lakes, The Cod Fisheries looks outward at global trade and empire, showing the far-reaching effects of one staple product both on imperial centres and on marginal colonies such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England.
Communications theories
Innis's study of the effects of interconnected lakes and rivers on Canadian development and European empire sparked his interest in the complex economic and cultural relationships between transportation systems and communications. During the 1940s, Innis also began studying pulp and paper, an industry of central importance to the Canadian economy. The research provided an additional crossover point from his work on staple products to his communications studies. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis "followed pulp and paper through its subsequent stages: newspapers and journalism, books and advertising. In other words, from looking at a natural resource-based industry he turned his attention to a cultural industry in which information, and ultimately knowledge, was a commodity that circulated, had value, and empowered those who controlled it."
One of Innis's primary contributions to communications studies was to apply the dimensions of time and space to various media. He divided media into time-binding and space-binding types. Time-binding media are durable and include clay or stone tablets. Space-binding media are more ephemeral and include modern media such as radio, television, and mass circulation newspapers.
Innis examined the rise and fall of ancient empires as a way of tracing the effects of communications media. He looked at media that led to the growth of an empire; those that sustained it during its periods of success, and then, the communications changes that hastened an empire's collapse. He tried to show that media 'biases' toward time or space affected the complex interrelationships needed to sustain an empire. The interrelationships included the partnership between the knowledge (and ideas) necessary to create and maintain an empire and the power (or force) required to expand and defend it. For Innis, the interplay between knowledge and power was always a crucial factor in understanding empire.
Innis argued that a balance between the spoken word and writing contributed to the flourishing of Ancient Greece in the time of Plato. The balance between the time-biased medium of speech and the space-biased medium of writing was eventually upset, Innis argued, as the oral tradition gave way to the dominance of writing. The torch of empire then passed from Greece to Rome.
Innis's analysis of the effects of communications on the rise and fall of empires led him to warn grimly that Western civilization was now facing its own profound crisis. The development of powerful communications media such as mass-circulation newspapers had shifted the balance decisively in favour of space and power, over time, continuity and knowledge. The balance required for cultural survival had been upset by what Innis saw as "mechanized" communications media used to transmit information quickly over long distances. The new media had contributed to an obsession with "present-mindedness", wiping out concerns about past or future. Innis wrote,
The overwhelming pressure of mechanization evident in the newspaper and the magazine, has led to the creation of vast monopolies of communication. Their entrenched positions involve a continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity.
Western civilization could be saved, Innis argued, only by recovering the balance between space and time. For him, that meant reinvigorating the oral tradition within universities while freeing institutions of higher learning from political and commercial pressures. In his essay, A Plea for Time, he suggested that genuine dialogue within universities could produce the critical thinking necessary to restore the balance between power and knowledge. Then, universities could muster the courage to attack the monopolies that always imperil civilization.
Although Innis remains appreciated and respected for the grand and unique nature of his later efforts regarding communications theories, he was not without critics. Particularly, the fragmentary and mosaic writing style exemplified in Empire and Communications has been criticized as ambiguous, aggressively nonlinear, and lacking connections between levels of analysis. Biographers have suggested that the style may have been a result of Innis's illness late in his career.
Academic and public career
Influence in the 1930s
Aside from his work on The Cod Fisheries, Innis wrote extensively in the 1930s about other staple products such as minerals and wheat as well as Canada's immense economic problems in the Great Depression. During the summers of 1932 and 1933, he travelled to the West to see the effects of the Depression for himself. The next year, in an essay entitled, The Canadian Economy and the Depression, Innis outlined the plight of "a country susceptible to the slightest ground-swell of international disturbance" but beset by regional differences that made it difficult to devise effective solutions. He described a prairie economy dependent on the export of wheat but afflicted by severe drought, on the one hand, and the increased political power of Canada's growing cities, sheltered from direct reliance on the staples trade, on the other. The result was political conflict and a breakdown in federal–provincial relations. "We lack vital information on which to base prospective policies to meet this situation," Innis warned, because of "the weak position of the social sciences in Canada."
Innis's reputation as a public intellectual was growing steadily and, in 1934, Premier Angus Lewis Macdonald invited him to serve on a Royal Commission to examine Nova Scotia's economic problems. The next year, he helped establish The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. In 1936, he was appointed a full University of Toronto professor and a year later, became the head of the university's Department of Political Economy.
Innis was appointed president of the Canadian Political Science Association in 1938. His inaugural address, The Penetrative Powers of the Price System, must have baffled his listeners as he ranged over centuries of economic history jumping abruptly from one topic to the next linking monetary developments to patterns of trade and settlement. The address was an ambitious attempt to show the disruptive effects of new technologies culminating in the modern shift from an industrial system based on coal and iron to the newest sources of industrial power, electricity, oil, and steel. Innis also tried to show the commercial effects of mass circulation newspapers, made possible by expanded newsprint production, and of the new medium of radio, which "threatens to circumvent the walls imposed by tariffs and to reach across boundaries frequently denied to other media of communication." Both media, Innis argued, stimulated the demand for consumer goods and both promoted nationalism.
Innis was also a central participant in an international project that produced 25 scholarly volumes between 1936 and 1945. It was a series called The Relations of Canada and the United States overseen by James T. Shotwell, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Innis edited and wrote prefaces for the volumes contributed by Canadian scholars. His own study of the cod fisheries also appeared as part of the series. His work with Shotwell enabled Innis to gain access to Carnegie money to further Canadian academic research. As John Watson points out, "the project offered one of the few sources of research funds in rather lean times."
Politics and the Great Depression
The era of the "Dirty Thirties" with its mass unemployment, poverty and despair gave rise to new Canadian political movements. In Alberta, for example, the radio evangelist William "Bible Bill" Aberhart led his populist Social Credit party to victory in 1935. Three years earlier in Calgary, Alberta, social reformers had founded a new political party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It advocated democratic socialism and a mixed economy with public ownership of key industries. Frank Underhill, one of Innis's colleagues at the University of Toronto was a founding member of the CCF. Innis and Underhill had both been members of an earlier group at the university that declared itself "dissatisfied with the policies of the two major [political] parties in Canada" and that aimed at "forming a definite body of progressive opinion." In 1931, Innis presented a paper to the group on "Economic Conditions in Canada", but he later recoiled from participating in party politics, denouncing partisans like Underhill as "hot gospellers."
Innis maintained that scholars had no place in active politics and that they should instead devote themselves, first to research on public problems, and then to the production of knowledge based on critical thought. He saw the university, with its emphasis on dialogue, open-mindedness and skepticism, as an institution that could foster such thinking and research. "The university could provide an environment," he wrote, "as free as possible from the biases of the various institutions that form the state, so that its intellectuals could continue to seek out and explore other perspectives."
Although sympathetic to the plight of western farmers and urban, unemployed workers, Innis did not embrace socialism. Eric Havelock, a left-leaning colleague explained many years later that Innis distrusted political "solutions" imported from elsewhere, especially those based on Marxist analysis with its emphasis on class conflict. He worried, too, that as Canada's ties with Britain weakened, the country would fall under the spell of American ideas instead of developing its own based on Canada's unique circumstances. Havelock added:
He has been called the radical conservative of his day — not a bad designation of a complex mind, clear sighted, cautious, perhaps at bottom pessimistic in areas where thinkers we would label 'progressive' felt less difficulty in taking a stand; never content to select only one or two elements in a complicated equation in order to build a quick-order policy or program; far ranging enough in intellect to take in the whole sum of the factors, and comprehend their often contradictory effects.
Late career and death
In the 1940s, Harold Innis reached the height of his influence in both academic circles and Canadian society. In 1941, he helped establish the American-based Economic History Association and its Journal of Economic History. He later became the association's second president. Innis played a central role in founding two important sources for the funding of academic research: the Canadian Social Science Research Council (1940) and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (1944).
In 1944, the University of New Brunswick awarded Innis an honorary degree, as did his alma mater, McMaster University. Université Laval, the University of Manitoba and the University of Glasgow would also confer honorary degrees in 1947–48.
In 1945, Innis spent nearly a month in the Soviet Union where he had been invited to attend the 220th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the country's Academy of Sciences. Later, in his essay Reflections on Russia, he mused about the differences between the Soviet "producer" economy and the West's "consumer" ethos:
[A]n economy which emphasizes consumer's goods is characterized by communication industries largely dependent on advertising and by constant efforts to reach the largest number of readers or listeners; an economy emphasizing producer's goods is characterized by communications industries largely dependent on government support. As a result of this contrast, a common public opinion in Russia and the West is hard to achieve.
Innis's trip to Moscow and Leningrad came shortly before US–Soviet rivalry led to the hostility of the Cold War. Innis lamented the rise in international tensions. He saw the Soviet Union as a stabilizing counterbalance to the American emphasis on commercialism, the individual and constant change. For Innis, Russia was a society within the Western tradition, not an alien civilization. He abhorred the nuclear arms race and saw it as the triumph of force over knowledge, a modern form of the medieval Inquisition. "The Middle Ages burned its heretics," he wrote, "and the modern age threatens them with atom bombs."
In 1946, Innis was elected president of the Royal Society of Canada, the country's senior body of scientists and scholars. The same year, he served on the Manitoba Royal Commission on Adult Education and published Political Economy in the Modern State, a collection of his speeches and essays that reflected both his staples research and his new work in communications. In 1947, Innis was appointed the University of Toronto's dean of graduate studies. In 1948, he delivered lectures at the University of London and Nottingham University. He also gave the prestigious Beit lectures at Oxford, later published in his book Empire and Communications. In 1949, Innis was appointed as a commissioner on the federal government's Royal Commission on Transportation, a position that involved extensive travel at a time when his health was starting to fail. The last decade of his career, during which he worked on his communications studies, was an unhappy time for Innis. He was academically isolated because his colleagues in economics could not fathom how the new work related to his pioneering research in staples theory. Biographer John Watson writes that "the almost complete lack of positive response to the communications works, contributed to his sense of overwork and depression."
Innis died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1952, a few days after his 58th birthday. In commemoration, Innis College at the University of Toronto and Innis Library at McMaster University were named in his honour.
Following his premature death, Innis' significance increasingly deepened as scholars in several academic disciplines continued to build upon his writings. Marshall Poe's general media theory that proposes two sub-theories were inspired by Innis. Douglas C. North expanded on Innis' "vent for surplus" theory of economic development by applying it to regional development in the United States and underdeveloped countries. In addition, James W. Carey adopted Innis as a "reference point in his conception of two models of communication."
Innis and McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan was a colleague of Innis's at the University of Toronto. As a young English professor, McLuhan was flattered when he learned that Innis had put his book The Mechanical Bride on the reading list of the fourth-year economics course. McLuhan built on Innis's idea that in studying the effects of communications media, technological form mattered more than content. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis's concept of the "bias" of a particular medium of communication can be seen as a "less flamboyant precursor to McLuhan's legendary phrase 'the medium is the message.'" Innis, for example, tried to show how printed media such as books or newspapers were "biased" toward control over space and secular power, while engraved media such as stone or clay tablets were "biased" in favour of continuity in time and metaphysical or religious knowledge. McLuhan focused on what may be called a medium's "sensory bias" arguing, for example, that books and newspapers appealed to the rationality of the eye, while radio played to the irrationality of the ear. The differences in the Innisian and McLuhanesque approaches were summarized by the late James W. Carey:
Both McLuhan and Innis assume the centrality of communication technology; where they differ is in the principal kinds of effects they see deriving from this technology. Whereas Innis sees communication technology principally affecting social organization and culture, McLuhan sees its principal effect on sensory organization and thought. McLuhan has much to say about perception and thought but little to say about institutions; Innis says much about institutions and little about perception and thought.
Biographer John Watson notes that Innis's work was profoundly political while McLuhan's was not. He writes that "the mechanization of knowledge, not the relative sensual bias of media, is the key to Innis's work. That also underlies the politicization of Innis's position vis-a-vis that of McLuhan." Watson adds that Innis believed very different media could produce similar effects. "For Innis, the yellow press of the United States and the Nazi loudspeaker had the same form of negative effect: they reduced men from thinking beings to mere automatons in a chain of command." Watson argues that while McLuhan separated media according to their sensory bias, Innis examined a different set of interrelationships, the "dialectic of power and knowledge" in specific historical circumstances. For Watson, Innis's work is therefore more flexible and less deterministic than McLuhan's.
As scholars and teachers, Innis and McLuhan shared a similar dilemma since both argued that book culture tended to produce fixed points of view and homogeneity of thought; yet both produced many books. In his introduction to the 1964 reprint of The Bias of Communication, McLuhan marvelled at Innis's technique of juxtaposing "his insights in a mosaic structure of seemingly unrelated and disproportioned sentences and aphorisms." McLuhan argued that although that made reading Innis's dense prose difficult ("a pattern of insights that are not packaged for the consumer palate"), Innis's method approximated "the natural form of conversation or dialogue rather than of written discourse." Best of all, it yielded "insight" and "pattern recognition" rather than the "classified knowledge" so overvalued by print-trained scholars. "How exciting it was to encounter a writer whose every phrase invited prolonged meditation and exploration," McLuhan added. McLuhan's own books with their reliance on aphorisms, puns, quips, "probes" and oddly juxtaposed observations also employ that mosaic technique.
Innis's theories of political economy, media and society remain highly relevant: he had a profound influence on critical media theory and communications and, in conjunction with McLuhan, offered groundbreaking Canadian perspectives on the function of communication technologies as key agents in social and historical change. Together, their works advanced a theory of history in which communication is central to social change and transformation.
Selected works
1923. A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Revised edition (1971). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. Revised edition (1956). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. Peter Pond, Fur Trader and Adventurer. Toronto: Irwin & Gordon.
1940. The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1946. Political Economy in the Modern State. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1948. The Diary of Simeon Perkins: 1766–1780. Toronto: Champlain Society. [editor]
1950. Empire and Communications. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1951. The Bias of Communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. The Strategy of Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. Changing Concepts of Time. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1956. Essays in Canadian Economic History, edited by Mary Q. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1980. The Idea File of Harold Adams Innis, edited by William Christian. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
See also
Historiography of Canada
History of communication
History of technology
Innis-Gérin Medal
Metropolitan-hinterland thesis
Monopolies of knowledge
Orality
Technological nationalism
Notes
References
Aitken, Hugh Gj. (1977) "Myth and Measurement-Innis Tradition in Economic-History." Journal of Canadian Studies 12#5 : 96-105.
Babe, Robert. (2000). "The Communication Thought of Harold Adams Innis." In Canadian Communication Thought: Ten Foundational Writers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 51–88.
Berger, Carl. (1976). "Harold Innis: The Search for Limits." In The Writing of Canadian History. Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–111.
Bonnett, John (2013). Emergence and Empire: Innis, Complexity and the Trajectory of History. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
Buxton, William J. (1998) "Harold Innis' excavation of modernity: The newspaper industry, communications, and the decline of public life." Canadian Journal of Communication 23.3 (1998).
Carey, J. W. (1992). "Space, Time and Communications: A Tribute to Harold Innis." In Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. New York: Routledge. pp. 142–72.
Creighton, Donald. (1957). Harold Adams Innis: Portrait of a Scholar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dickason, Olive; MacNab, David. (2009) Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. Fourth Edition. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Easterbrook, W.T. and Watkins, M.H. (1984) "Introduction" and "Part 1: The Staple Approach." In Approaches to Canadian Economic History. Ottawa: The Carleton Library Series. Carleton University Press.
Havelock, Eric. (1982). Harold A. Innis: a memoir (with a preface by H. Marshall McLuhan). Toronto: Harold Innis Foundation.
Heyer, Paul. (2003). Harold Innis. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hutcheson, John. (1982) "Harold Innis and the Unity and Diversity of Confederation," Journal of Canadian Studies 1#1 pp 57–73.
Innis, Mary Quayle. (1935) An Economic History of Canada. Toronto: Ryerson Press.
Kroker, Arthur. (1984). Technology and the Canadian Mind: Innis/McLuhan/Grant. Montreal: New World Perspectives.
McLuhan, Marshall. (2005) "Introduction to the Bias of Communication: [Harold A. Innis first edition 1951.]" In Marshall McLuhan Unbound. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press. v.8.
Neill, Robin. (1972). A New Theory of Value: The Canadian Economics of H.A. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Patterson, Graeme. (1990) History and Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, the Interpretation of History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Vancouver Public Library. (1999) "The Bias of Communication" and "The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History." In Great Canadian Books of the Century. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Watson, Alexander John. (2006). Marginal Man: The Dark Vision of Harold Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
External links
Innis Family, Harold Innis Foundation, and Harold Innis archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
Harold Adams Innis by Robin Neill, EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. January 10, 2005.
Harold Adams Innis: The Bias of Communications & Monopolies of Power by Dr. Marshall Soules, Malaspina University-College, 2007.
Harold Innis and the Press by Robert E. Babe., Fifth-Estate-Online – International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism.
Old Messengers, New Media: The Legacy of Innis and McLuhan, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada.
Harold Adams Innis entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Mary Quayle Innis special collection at the University of Waterloo.
Harold Innis Foundation fonds held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
1894 births
1952 deaths
20th-century Canadian historians
20th-century economists
Canadian agnostics
Canadian economists
Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian political philosophers
Communication theorists
Economic historians
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Historians of Canada
Historians of printing
Literacy and society theorists
McMaster University alumni
McMaster University faculty
North American cultural studies
People from Oxford County, Ontario
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Presidents of the American Economic Association
Theorists on Western civilization
University of Chicago alumni
University of Toronto faculty | true | [
"This is a list of seasons played by Northamptonshire County Cricket Club in English cricket, from the club's formation to the most recent completed season. It details the club's achievements in major competitions, and the top run-scorers and wicket-takers for each season.\n\nSeasons\n\nKey\n\nDivision shown in bold when it changes due to promotion, relegation or league reorganisation. Top run scorer/wicket taker shown in bold when he was the leading run scorer/wicket taker in the country.\n\nKey to league record:\nDiv - division played in\nP – games played\nW – games won\nL – games lost\nD – games drawn\nNR – games with no result\nAbnd – games abandoned\nPts – points\nPos – final position\n\nKey to rounds:\nPR - preliminary round\nR1 – first round\nR2 – second round, etc.\nQF – quarter-final\nSF – semi-final\nGrp – group stage\nRU - runners-up\nn/a – not applicable\n\nNotes\nA. The National League competition did not start until the 1969 season, and ran until 2010. It was replaced, along with the Friends Provident Trophy, by the group format Clydesdale Bank 40.\nB. The Friends Provident Trophy competition did not start until the 1963 season, and for the 2010 was replaced by a group format named the Clydesdale Bank 40.\nC. The Benson & Hedges Cup competition did not start until the 1972 season, and ran until 2002.\nD. The Twenty20 Cup competition did not start until the 2003 season, and for the 2010 season changed to the FP T20.\nE. In County Championship matches only.\nF. The County Championship was split into two divisions in 2000.\nG. The National League was split into two divisions in 1999.\nH. Owing to the 1999 Cricket World Cup, the Benson & Hedges Cup was replaced by the Benson & Hedges Super Cup, which featured the top eight teams from the 1998 County Championship. Northamptonshire, finishing 15, did not qualify.\n\nReferences\n\nSeasons\nNorthamptonshire-related lists\nSeasons, Northamptonshire County Cricket Club",
"Kenny Hendrick (born September 10, 1969) is an American stock car racing driver. He is a former competitor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series. He is the twin brother of former USAC midget car driver Kara Hendrick, who lost her life in a racing accident in October 1991.\n\nBusch Series\nHendrick made his Busch Series debut in 2003, when he ran a hodgepodge of entries. He made his debut at Gateway, where he started 30th for the Stanton Barrett Racing operation. He ran a solid race and came home 21st. He did a start and park race for GIC-Mixon Motorsports at Nazareth, before doing another start and park at Dover for Rick Allen. Hendrick would return then to the Stanton Barrett Racing for two more 2003 races. He was 35th at Nashville and 27th at Kentucky.\n\nHendrick was tapped to drive the first Keller Racing vehicles in 2004, a team that ran a ten-race schedule. The new team struggled. Hendrick only qualified for six races and his best finish was an 18th at Kentucky. The Kentucky race was the only one that Hendrick finished. He was released, and he would only compete in one more series race. It, too, came in 2004, when he drove the Ware Racing Enterprises Dodge to a 42nd-place finish in the fall Dover race.\n\nHe returned in 2008 at Mexico driving a second Stanton Barrett Motorsports car in place of Stan Barrett who was originally meant to race for the team. He qualified and finished 38th after pulling in with handling issues. He then drove at Richmond replacing the injured Larry Gunselman at MSRP Motorsports qualifying 40th and finishing 43rd after parking the car on lap 6. He made a second start for Stanton Barrett at Darlington starting 34th and finishing 36th after parking on lap 30.\n\nIn 2009, Hendrick drove for Smith-Ganassi Racing, a team that had bought the assets of the shut-down No. 40 team.\n\nCraftsman Truck Series\nHendrick ran four Craftsman Truck Series races in 1996 to start his career off. He started his career with a top-10 start: a 9th in his debut at Phoenix. He finished 28th in that race. His best run of the year was a modest 23rd-place finish at Las Vegas.\n\nFour more races were in store for Hendrick. He had one top-20 finish. That was a 19th at Texas, racing for Rob Rizzo. He had started the year off with the team, but after finishes of 29th and 24th, they let him go.\n\nHendrick would not race in this series until 2003, when he did a start and park effort in a second Billy Ballew Motorsports No. 9 entry. Because of the nature of the effort, Hendrick did not complete any of the dozen starts he did and his best finish was a 31st at IRP, where he also recorded his second career top-10 start of 10th.\n\nHendrick returned to the Trucks when he ran at Kansas Speedway in the No. 16 Xpress Motorsports truck on April 28, 2007.\n\nMotorsports career results\n\nSCCA National Championship Runoffs\n\nNASCAR\n(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)\n\nNextel Cup Series\n\nBusch Series\n\nCraftsman Truck Series\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nLiving people\n1969 births\nPeople from Chino, California\nRacing drivers from California\nNASCAR drivers\nTrans-Am Series drivers\nSCCA National Championship Runoffs winners"
]
|
[
"Harold Innis",
"\"Dirt\" research",
"What is dirt research?",
"gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called \"dirt\" experience.",
"What kind of information was he gathering?",
"archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade,",
"When did he start?",
"Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924"
]
| C_8313ede8658048b1bfa342c647b62f91_1 | Where did he travel? | 4 | Where did Harold Innis travel beginning in the summer of 1924? | Harold Innis | Harold Adams Innis was born in 1894 on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him 'Herald', hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist Church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the Church: The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville. Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled 20 miles (32 km) by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him. Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West. Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent". As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result. Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence". It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that this National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada", Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement." In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he would not only need to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade, but would also have to travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience. Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay. Everywhere Innis went his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories. CANNOTANSWER | he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; | Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 9, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition.
Innis's writings on communication explore the role of media in shaping the culture and development of civilizations. He argued, for example, that a balance between oral and written forms of communication contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization in the 5th century BC. He warned, however, that Western civilization is now imperiled by powerful, advertising-driven media obsessed by "present-mindedness" and the "continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity." His intellectual bond with Eric A. Havelock formed the foundations of the Toronto School of communication theory, which provided a source of inspiration for future members of the school: Marshall McLuhan and Edmund Snow Carpenter.
Innis laid the basis for scholarship that looked at the social sciences from a distinctly Canadian point of view. As the head of the University of Toronto's political economy department, he worked to build up a cadre of Canadian scholars so that universities would not continue to rely as heavily on British or American-trained professors unfamiliar with Canada's history and culture. He was successful in establishing sources of financing for Canadian scholarly research.
As the Cold War grew hotter after 1947, Innis grew increasingly hostile to the United States. He warned repeatedly that Canada was becoming a subservient colony to its much more powerful southern neighbor. "We are indeed fighting for our lives," he warned, pointing especially to the "pernicious influence of American advertising.... We can only survive by taking persistent action at strategic points against American imperialism in all its attractive guises." His views influenced some younger scholars, including Donald Creighton.
Innis also tried to defend universities from political and economic pressures. He believed that independent universities, as centres of critical thought, were essential to the survival of Western civilization. His intellectual disciple and university colleague, Marshall McLuhan, lamented Innis's premature death as a disastrous loss for human understanding. McLuhan wrote: "I am pleased to think of my own book The Gutenberg Galaxy as a footnote to the observations of Innis on the subject of the psychic and social consequences, first of writing then of printing."
Rural roots
Early life
Innis was born on November 5, 1894, on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him Herald, hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the church:
The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville.
Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him.
University studies
In October 1913, Innis started classes at McMaster University (then in Toronto). McMaster was a natural choice for him because it was a Baptist university and many students who attended Woodstock College went there. McMaster's liberal arts professors encouraged critical thinking and debate. Innis was especially influenced by , the university's one-man philosophy department. Ten Broeke posed an essay question that Innis pondered for the rest of his life: "Why do we attend to the things to which we attend?"
Before his final undergraduate year at McMaster, Innis spent a summer teaching at the Northern Star School in the frontier farming community of Landonville near Vermilion, Alberta. The experience gave him a sense of the vastness of Canada. He also learned about Western grievances over high interest rates and steep transportation costs. In his final undergraduate year, Innis focused on history and economics. He kept in mind a remark made by history lecturer W. S. Wallace that the economic interpretation of history was not the only possible one but that it went the deepest.
First World War service
After graduating from McMaster, Innis felt that his Christian principles compelled him to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent to France in the fall of 1916 to fight in the First World War. Trench warfare with its "mud and lice and rats" had a devastating effect on him.
Innis's role as an artillery signaller gave him firsthand experience of life (and death) on the front lines as he participated in the successful Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge. Signallers, or spotters, watched where each artillery shell landed, then sent back aiming corrections so that the next shells could hit their targets more accurately. On July 7, 1917, Innis received a serious shrapnel wound in his right thigh that required eight months of hospital treatment in England.
Innis's war was over. His biographer, John Watson, notes the physical wound took seven years to heal, but the psychological damage lasted a lifetime. Innis suffered recurring bouts of depression and nervous exhaustion because of his military service.
Watson also notes that the Great War influenced Innis's intellectual outlook. It strengthened his Canadian nationalism; sharpened his opinion of what he thought were the destructive effects of technology, including the communications media that were used so effectively to "sell" the war; and led him, for the first time, to doubt his Baptist faith.
Graduate studies
McMaster and Chicago
Harold Innis completed a Master of Arts degree at McMaster, graduating in April 1918. His thesis, called The Returned Soldier, "was a detailed description of the public policy measures that were necessary, not only to provide a supportive milieu to help veterans get over the effects of the war, but also to move on with national reconstruction."
Innis did his postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and was awarded his PhD, with a dissertation on the history of Canadian Pacific Railway, in August 1920. His two years at Chicago had a profound influence on his later work. His interest in economics deepened and he decided to become a professional economist. The economics faculty at Chicago questioned abstract and universalist neoclassical theories, then in vogue, arguing that general rules for economic policy should be derived from specific case studies.
Innis was influenced by the university's two eminent communications scholars, George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park. Although he did not attend any of those famous professors' classes, Innis did absorb their idea that communication involved much more than the transmission of information. James W. Carey writes that Mead and Park "characterized communication as the entire process whereby a culture is brought into existence, maintained in time, and sedimented into institutions."
While at Chicago, Innis was exposed to the ideas of Thorstein Veblen, the iconoclastic thinker who drew on his deep knowledge of philosophy and economics to write scathing critiques of contemporary thought and culture. Veblen had left Chicago years before, but his ideas were still strongly felt there. Years later, in an essay on Veblen, Innis praised him for waging war against "standardized static economics."
Innis got his first taste of university teaching at Chicago, where he delivered several introductory economics courses. One of his students was Mary Quayle, the woman he would marry in May 1921 when he was 26 and she 22. Together they had four children, Donald (1924), Mary (1927), Hugh (1930), and Anne (1933). Mary Quayle Innis was herself a notable economist and writer. Her book, An Economic History of Canada, was published in 1935. Her novel, Stand on a Rainbow appeared in 1943. Her other books include Mrs. Simcoe's Diary (1965), The Clear Spirit: Canadian Women and Their Times (1966) and Unfold the Years (1949), a history of the Young Women's Christian Association. She also edited Harold Innis's posthumous Essays in Canadian Economic History (1956) and a 1972 reissue of his Empire and Communications.
Donald Quayle Innis became a geography professor at the State University of New York, Mary married a surgeon and did graduate work in French literature, Hugh Innis became a professor at Ryerson University where he taught communications and economics, Anne Innis Dagg did doctoral work in biology and became an advisor for the independent studies program at the University of Waterloo and published books on zoology, feminism, and Canadian women's history.
History of the CPR
Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West.
Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent." As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result.
Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence." It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that the National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada," Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement."
Staples thesis
Harold Innis is considered the leading founder of a Canadian school of economic thought known as the staples theory. It holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively shaped by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, wood, wheat, mined metals and fossil fuels. Innis theorized that the reliance on exporting natural resources made Canada dependent on more industrially advanced countries and resulted in periodic disruptions to economic life as the international demand for staples rose and fell; as the staple itself became increasingly scarce; and, as technological change resulted in shifts from one staple to others. Innis pointed out, for example, that as furs became scarce and trade in that staple declined, it became necessary to develop and export other staples such as wheat, potash and especially lumber. The export of the new staples was made possible through improved transportation networks that included first canals and later railways.
"Dirt" research
In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he had to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade and also travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience.
Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay.
Everywhere that Innis went, his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories.
Fur trade in Canada
Harold Innis's interest in the relationship between empires and colonies was developed in his classic study, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930). The book chronicles the trade in beaver fur from the early 16th century to the 1920s. Instead of focusing on the "heroic" European adventurers who explored the Canadian wilderness as conventional histories had done, Innis documents how the interplay of geography, technology and economic forces shaped both the fur trade and Canada's political and economic destiny. He argues that the fur trade largely determined Canada's boundaries, and he comes to the conclusion that the country "emerged not in spite of geography but because of it."
In line with that observation, Innis notably proposes that European settlement of the Saint Lawrence River Valley followed the economic and social patterns of indigenous peoples, making for a Canadian historical and cultural continuity that predates and postdates European settlement. Unlike many historians who see Canadian history as beginning with the arrival of Europeans, Innis emphasizes the cultural and economic contributions of First Nations peoples. "We have not yet realized," he writes, "that the Indian and his culture was fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions."
The Innisian perspective on the development of Canadian political, economic and social institutions was an early form of neo-institutionalism, which became an accepted part of the Canadian political science tradition well before American and European counterparts. The Fur Trade in Canada concludes by arguing that Canadian economic history can best be understood by examining how one staple product gave way to another—furs to timber, for example, and the later importance of wheat and minerals. Reliance on staples made Canada economically dependent on more industrially advanced countries and the "cyclonic" shifts from one staple to another caused frequent disruptions in the country's economic life.
The Fur Trade in Canada also describes the cultural interactions among three groups of people: the Europeans in fashionable metropolitan centres who regarded beaver hats as luxury items; the European colonial settlers who saw beaver fur as a staple that could be exported to pay for essential manufactured goods from the home country, and First Nations peoples who traded furs for industrial goods such as metal pots, knives, guns and liquor. Innis describes the central role First Nations peoples played in the development of the fur trade. Without their skilled hunting techniques, knowledge of the territory and advanced tools such as snowshoes, toboggans and birch-bark canoes, the fur trade would not have existed. However, dependence on European technologies disrupted First Nations societies. "The new technology with its radical innovations," Innis writes, "brought about such a rapid shift in the prevailing Indian culture as to lead to wholesale destruction of the peoples concerned by warfare and disease." Historian Carl Berger argues that by placing First Nations culture at the centre of his analysis of the fur trade, Innis "was the first to explain adequately the disintegration of native society under the thrust of European capitalism."
Cod fishery
After the publication of his book on the fur trade, Innis turned to a study of an earlier staple, the cod fished for centuries off the eastern coasts of North America, especially the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The result was The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy published in 1940, 10 years after the fur trade study. Innis tells the detailed history of competing empires in the exploitation of a teeming natural resource, a history that ranges over 500 years. While his study of the fur trade focused on the continental interior with its interlocking rivers and lakes, The Cod Fisheries looks outward at global trade and empire, showing the far-reaching effects of one staple product both on imperial centres and on marginal colonies such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England.
Communications theories
Innis's study of the effects of interconnected lakes and rivers on Canadian development and European empire sparked his interest in the complex economic and cultural relationships between transportation systems and communications. During the 1940s, Innis also began studying pulp and paper, an industry of central importance to the Canadian economy. The research provided an additional crossover point from his work on staple products to his communications studies. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis "followed pulp and paper through its subsequent stages: newspapers and journalism, books and advertising. In other words, from looking at a natural resource-based industry he turned his attention to a cultural industry in which information, and ultimately knowledge, was a commodity that circulated, had value, and empowered those who controlled it."
One of Innis's primary contributions to communications studies was to apply the dimensions of time and space to various media. He divided media into time-binding and space-binding types. Time-binding media are durable and include clay or stone tablets. Space-binding media are more ephemeral and include modern media such as radio, television, and mass circulation newspapers.
Innis examined the rise and fall of ancient empires as a way of tracing the effects of communications media. He looked at media that led to the growth of an empire; those that sustained it during its periods of success, and then, the communications changes that hastened an empire's collapse. He tried to show that media 'biases' toward time or space affected the complex interrelationships needed to sustain an empire. The interrelationships included the partnership between the knowledge (and ideas) necessary to create and maintain an empire and the power (or force) required to expand and defend it. For Innis, the interplay between knowledge and power was always a crucial factor in understanding empire.
Innis argued that a balance between the spoken word and writing contributed to the flourishing of Ancient Greece in the time of Plato. The balance between the time-biased medium of speech and the space-biased medium of writing was eventually upset, Innis argued, as the oral tradition gave way to the dominance of writing. The torch of empire then passed from Greece to Rome.
Innis's analysis of the effects of communications on the rise and fall of empires led him to warn grimly that Western civilization was now facing its own profound crisis. The development of powerful communications media such as mass-circulation newspapers had shifted the balance decisively in favour of space and power, over time, continuity and knowledge. The balance required for cultural survival had been upset by what Innis saw as "mechanized" communications media used to transmit information quickly over long distances. The new media had contributed to an obsession with "present-mindedness", wiping out concerns about past or future. Innis wrote,
The overwhelming pressure of mechanization evident in the newspaper and the magazine, has led to the creation of vast monopolies of communication. Their entrenched positions involve a continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity.
Western civilization could be saved, Innis argued, only by recovering the balance between space and time. For him, that meant reinvigorating the oral tradition within universities while freeing institutions of higher learning from political and commercial pressures. In his essay, A Plea for Time, he suggested that genuine dialogue within universities could produce the critical thinking necessary to restore the balance between power and knowledge. Then, universities could muster the courage to attack the monopolies that always imperil civilization.
Although Innis remains appreciated and respected for the grand and unique nature of his later efforts regarding communications theories, he was not without critics. Particularly, the fragmentary and mosaic writing style exemplified in Empire and Communications has been criticized as ambiguous, aggressively nonlinear, and lacking connections between levels of analysis. Biographers have suggested that the style may have been a result of Innis's illness late in his career.
Academic and public career
Influence in the 1930s
Aside from his work on The Cod Fisheries, Innis wrote extensively in the 1930s about other staple products such as minerals and wheat as well as Canada's immense economic problems in the Great Depression. During the summers of 1932 and 1933, he travelled to the West to see the effects of the Depression for himself. The next year, in an essay entitled, The Canadian Economy and the Depression, Innis outlined the plight of "a country susceptible to the slightest ground-swell of international disturbance" but beset by regional differences that made it difficult to devise effective solutions. He described a prairie economy dependent on the export of wheat but afflicted by severe drought, on the one hand, and the increased political power of Canada's growing cities, sheltered from direct reliance on the staples trade, on the other. The result was political conflict and a breakdown in federal–provincial relations. "We lack vital information on which to base prospective policies to meet this situation," Innis warned, because of "the weak position of the social sciences in Canada."
Innis's reputation as a public intellectual was growing steadily and, in 1934, Premier Angus Lewis Macdonald invited him to serve on a Royal Commission to examine Nova Scotia's economic problems. The next year, he helped establish The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. In 1936, he was appointed a full University of Toronto professor and a year later, became the head of the university's Department of Political Economy.
Innis was appointed president of the Canadian Political Science Association in 1938. His inaugural address, The Penetrative Powers of the Price System, must have baffled his listeners as he ranged over centuries of economic history jumping abruptly from one topic to the next linking monetary developments to patterns of trade and settlement. The address was an ambitious attempt to show the disruptive effects of new technologies culminating in the modern shift from an industrial system based on coal and iron to the newest sources of industrial power, electricity, oil, and steel. Innis also tried to show the commercial effects of mass circulation newspapers, made possible by expanded newsprint production, and of the new medium of radio, which "threatens to circumvent the walls imposed by tariffs and to reach across boundaries frequently denied to other media of communication." Both media, Innis argued, stimulated the demand for consumer goods and both promoted nationalism.
Innis was also a central participant in an international project that produced 25 scholarly volumes between 1936 and 1945. It was a series called The Relations of Canada and the United States overseen by James T. Shotwell, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Innis edited and wrote prefaces for the volumes contributed by Canadian scholars. His own study of the cod fisheries also appeared as part of the series. His work with Shotwell enabled Innis to gain access to Carnegie money to further Canadian academic research. As John Watson points out, "the project offered one of the few sources of research funds in rather lean times."
Politics and the Great Depression
The era of the "Dirty Thirties" with its mass unemployment, poverty and despair gave rise to new Canadian political movements. In Alberta, for example, the radio evangelist William "Bible Bill" Aberhart led his populist Social Credit party to victory in 1935. Three years earlier in Calgary, Alberta, social reformers had founded a new political party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It advocated democratic socialism and a mixed economy with public ownership of key industries. Frank Underhill, one of Innis's colleagues at the University of Toronto was a founding member of the CCF. Innis and Underhill had both been members of an earlier group at the university that declared itself "dissatisfied with the policies of the two major [political] parties in Canada" and that aimed at "forming a definite body of progressive opinion." In 1931, Innis presented a paper to the group on "Economic Conditions in Canada", but he later recoiled from participating in party politics, denouncing partisans like Underhill as "hot gospellers."
Innis maintained that scholars had no place in active politics and that they should instead devote themselves, first to research on public problems, and then to the production of knowledge based on critical thought. He saw the university, with its emphasis on dialogue, open-mindedness and skepticism, as an institution that could foster such thinking and research. "The university could provide an environment," he wrote, "as free as possible from the biases of the various institutions that form the state, so that its intellectuals could continue to seek out and explore other perspectives."
Although sympathetic to the plight of western farmers and urban, unemployed workers, Innis did not embrace socialism. Eric Havelock, a left-leaning colleague explained many years later that Innis distrusted political "solutions" imported from elsewhere, especially those based on Marxist analysis with its emphasis on class conflict. He worried, too, that as Canada's ties with Britain weakened, the country would fall under the spell of American ideas instead of developing its own based on Canada's unique circumstances. Havelock added:
He has been called the radical conservative of his day — not a bad designation of a complex mind, clear sighted, cautious, perhaps at bottom pessimistic in areas where thinkers we would label 'progressive' felt less difficulty in taking a stand; never content to select only one or two elements in a complicated equation in order to build a quick-order policy or program; far ranging enough in intellect to take in the whole sum of the factors, and comprehend their often contradictory effects.
Late career and death
In the 1940s, Harold Innis reached the height of his influence in both academic circles and Canadian society. In 1941, he helped establish the American-based Economic History Association and its Journal of Economic History. He later became the association's second president. Innis played a central role in founding two important sources for the funding of academic research: the Canadian Social Science Research Council (1940) and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (1944).
In 1944, the University of New Brunswick awarded Innis an honorary degree, as did his alma mater, McMaster University. Université Laval, the University of Manitoba and the University of Glasgow would also confer honorary degrees in 1947–48.
In 1945, Innis spent nearly a month in the Soviet Union where he had been invited to attend the 220th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the country's Academy of Sciences. Later, in his essay Reflections on Russia, he mused about the differences between the Soviet "producer" economy and the West's "consumer" ethos:
[A]n economy which emphasizes consumer's goods is characterized by communication industries largely dependent on advertising and by constant efforts to reach the largest number of readers or listeners; an economy emphasizing producer's goods is characterized by communications industries largely dependent on government support. As a result of this contrast, a common public opinion in Russia and the West is hard to achieve.
Innis's trip to Moscow and Leningrad came shortly before US–Soviet rivalry led to the hostility of the Cold War. Innis lamented the rise in international tensions. He saw the Soviet Union as a stabilizing counterbalance to the American emphasis on commercialism, the individual and constant change. For Innis, Russia was a society within the Western tradition, not an alien civilization. He abhorred the nuclear arms race and saw it as the triumph of force over knowledge, a modern form of the medieval Inquisition. "The Middle Ages burned its heretics," he wrote, "and the modern age threatens them with atom bombs."
In 1946, Innis was elected president of the Royal Society of Canada, the country's senior body of scientists and scholars. The same year, he served on the Manitoba Royal Commission on Adult Education and published Political Economy in the Modern State, a collection of his speeches and essays that reflected both his staples research and his new work in communications. In 1947, Innis was appointed the University of Toronto's dean of graduate studies. In 1948, he delivered lectures at the University of London and Nottingham University. He also gave the prestigious Beit lectures at Oxford, later published in his book Empire and Communications. In 1949, Innis was appointed as a commissioner on the federal government's Royal Commission on Transportation, a position that involved extensive travel at a time when his health was starting to fail. The last decade of his career, during which he worked on his communications studies, was an unhappy time for Innis. He was academically isolated because his colleagues in economics could not fathom how the new work related to his pioneering research in staples theory. Biographer John Watson writes that "the almost complete lack of positive response to the communications works, contributed to his sense of overwork and depression."
Innis died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1952, a few days after his 58th birthday. In commemoration, Innis College at the University of Toronto and Innis Library at McMaster University were named in his honour.
Following his premature death, Innis' significance increasingly deepened as scholars in several academic disciplines continued to build upon his writings. Marshall Poe's general media theory that proposes two sub-theories were inspired by Innis. Douglas C. North expanded on Innis' "vent for surplus" theory of economic development by applying it to regional development in the United States and underdeveloped countries. In addition, James W. Carey adopted Innis as a "reference point in his conception of two models of communication."
Innis and McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan was a colleague of Innis's at the University of Toronto. As a young English professor, McLuhan was flattered when he learned that Innis had put his book The Mechanical Bride on the reading list of the fourth-year economics course. McLuhan built on Innis's idea that in studying the effects of communications media, technological form mattered more than content. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis's concept of the "bias" of a particular medium of communication can be seen as a "less flamboyant precursor to McLuhan's legendary phrase 'the medium is the message.'" Innis, for example, tried to show how printed media such as books or newspapers were "biased" toward control over space and secular power, while engraved media such as stone or clay tablets were "biased" in favour of continuity in time and metaphysical or religious knowledge. McLuhan focused on what may be called a medium's "sensory bias" arguing, for example, that books and newspapers appealed to the rationality of the eye, while radio played to the irrationality of the ear. The differences in the Innisian and McLuhanesque approaches were summarized by the late James W. Carey:
Both McLuhan and Innis assume the centrality of communication technology; where they differ is in the principal kinds of effects they see deriving from this technology. Whereas Innis sees communication technology principally affecting social organization and culture, McLuhan sees its principal effect on sensory organization and thought. McLuhan has much to say about perception and thought but little to say about institutions; Innis says much about institutions and little about perception and thought.
Biographer John Watson notes that Innis's work was profoundly political while McLuhan's was not. He writes that "the mechanization of knowledge, not the relative sensual bias of media, is the key to Innis's work. That also underlies the politicization of Innis's position vis-a-vis that of McLuhan." Watson adds that Innis believed very different media could produce similar effects. "For Innis, the yellow press of the United States and the Nazi loudspeaker had the same form of negative effect: they reduced men from thinking beings to mere automatons in a chain of command." Watson argues that while McLuhan separated media according to their sensory bias, Innis examined a different set of interrelationships, the "dialectic of power and knowledge" in specific historical circumstances. For Watson, Innis's work is therefore more flexible and less deterministic than McLuhan's.
As scholars and teachers, Innis and McLuhan shared a similar dilemma since both argued that book culture tended to produce fixed points of view and homogeneity of thought; yet both produced many books. In his introduction to the 1964 reprint of The Bias of Communication, McLuhan marvelled at Innis's technique of juxtaposing "his insights in a mosaic structure of seemingly unrelated and disproportioned sentences and aphorisms." McLuhan argued that although that made reading Innis's dense prose difficult ("a pattern of insights that are not packaged for the consumer palate"), Innis's method approximated "the natural form of conversation or dialogue rather than of written discourse." Best of all, it yielded "insight" and "pattern recognition" rather than the "classified knowledge" so overvalued by print-trained scholars. "How exciting it was to encounter a writer whose every phrase invited prolonged meditation and exploration," McLuhan added. McLuhan's own books with their reliance on aphorisms, puns, quips, "probes" and oddly juxtaposed observations also employ that mosaic technique.
Innis's theories of political economy, media and society remain highly relevant: he had a profound influence on critical media theory and communications and, in conjunction with McLuhan, offered groundbreaking Canadian perspectives on the function of communication technologies as key agents in social and historical change. Together, their works advanced a theory of history in which communication is central to social change and transformation.
Selected works
1923. A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Revised edition (1971). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. Revised edition (1956). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. Peter Pond, Fur Trader and Adventurer. Toronto: Irwin & Gordon.
1940. The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1946. Political Economy in the Modern State. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1948. The Diary of Simeon Perkins: 1766–1780. Toronto: Champlain Society. [editor]
1950. Empire and Communications. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1951. The Bias of Communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. The Strategy of Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. Changing Concepts of Time. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1956. Essays in Canadian Economic History, edited by Mary Q. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1980. The Idea File of Harold Adams Innis, edited by William Christian. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
See also
Historiography of Canada
History of communication
History of technology
Innis-Gérin Medal
Metropolitan-hinterland thesis
Monopolies of knowledge
Orality
Technological nationalism
Notes
References
Aitken, Hugh Gj. (1977) "Myth and Measurement-Innis Tradition in Economic-History." Journal of Canadian Studies 12#5 : 96-105.
Babe, Robert. (2000). "The Communication Thought of Harold Adams Innis." In Canadian Communication Thought: Ten Foundational Writers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 51–88.
Berger, Carl. (1976). "Harold Innis: The Search for Limits." In The Writing of Canadian History. Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–111.
Bonnett, John (2013). Emergence and Empire: Innis, Complexity and the Trajectory of History. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
Buxton, William J. (1998) "Harold Innis' excavation of modernity: The newspaper industry, communications, and the decline of public life." Canadian Journal of Communication 23.3 (1998).
Carey, J. W. (1992). "Space, Time and Communications: A Tribute to Harold Innis." In Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. New York: Routledge. pp. 142–72.
Creighton, Donald. (1957). Harold Adams Innis: Portrait of a Scholar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dickason, Olive; MacNab, David. (2009) Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. Fourth Edition. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Easterbrook, W.T. and Watkins, M.H. (1984) "Introduction" and "Part 1: The Staple Approach." In Approaches to Canadian Economic History. Ottawa: The Carleton Library Series. Carleton University Press.
Havelock, Eric. (1982). Harold A. Innis: a memoir (with a preface by H. Marshall McLuhan). Toronto: Harold Innis Foundation.
Heyer, Paul. (2003). Harold Innis. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hutcheson, John. (1982) "Harold Innis and the Unity and Diversity of Confederation," Journal of Canadian Studies 1#1 pp 57–73.
Innis, Mary Quayle. (1935) An Economic History of Canada. Toronto: Ryerson Press.
Kroker, Arthur. (1984). Technology and the Canadian Mind: Innis/McLuhan/Grant. Montreal: New World Perspectives.
McLuhan, Marshall. (2005) "Introduction to the Bias of Communication: [Harold A. Innis first edition 1951.]" In Marshall McLuhan Unbound. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press. v.8.
Neill, Robin. (1972). A New Theory of Value: The Canadian Economics of H.A. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Patterson, Graeme. (1990) History and Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, the Interpretation of History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Vancouver Public Library. (1999) "The Bias of Communication" and "The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History." In Great Canadian Books of the Century. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Watson, Alexander John. (2006). Marginal Man: The Dark Vision of Harold Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
External links
Innis Family, Harold Innis Foundation, and Harold Innis archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
Harold Adams Innis by Robin Neill, EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. January 10, 2005.
Harold Adams Innis: The Bias of Communications & Monopolies of Power by Dr. Marshall Soules, Malaspina University-College, 2007.
Harold Innis and the Press by Robert E. Babe., Fifth-Estate-Online – International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism.
Old Messengers, New Media: The Legacy of Innis and McLuhan, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada.
Harold Adams Innis entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Mary Quayle Innis special collection at the University of Waterloo.
Harold Innis Foundation fonds held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
1894 births
1952 deaths
20th-century Canadian historians
20th-century economists
Canadian agnostics
Canadian economists
Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian political philosophers
Communication theorists
Economic historians
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Historians of Canada
Historians of printing
Literacy and society theorists
McMaster University alumni
McMaster University faculty
North American cultural studies
People from Oxford County, Ontario
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Presidents of the American Economic Association
Theorists on Western civilization
University of Chicago alumni
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"An UNMIK Travel Document was a passport-sized document issued to residents of Kosovo, who were not able to obtain a passport from Yugoslavia, for the purpose of foreign travel. The document was issued by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) from 2000 to 2008. After the government of Kosovo started to issue their own passports, the UNMIK ceased issuing them. Existing documents retained their validity until expiry (the last ones expired in 2010).\n\nThe travel document was not a passport as it did not contain information on Nationality and as it was not issued by a sovereign state. The document carried UNMIK travel document/titre de voyage on the cover, contained 32 pages and was valid for two years. The document contained a machine readable strip. As the issuing authority was the UNMIK, the document had the official three-letter code \"UNK\" where normally the country code is placed. The document was the only other travel document issued by the United Nations besides the United Nations Laissez-Passer, which is mainly issued to employees of the UN and its specialised agencies.\n\nLimited acceptance\nAs the status of Kosovo was and remains controversial, the document was not widely accepted. For those countries that did accept it, its non-passport status sometimes restricted its applications. For example, although the US did accept the UNMIK Travel Document, it did not place visa stickers in the document itself, but on a detached sheet.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nKosovo\nKosovo\nGovernment of Kosovo\nUnited Nations Mission in Kosovo\nUnited Nations documents",
"Hans Johannes Höfer was born in Stuttgart, Germany. An artist, he wrote a significant travel guide to Bali, and eventually produced a whole series of travel guide books.\n\nIn the late 1960s he trekked from Europe to Asia. He was especially intrigued by Bali, where he earned a living by selling his paintings of the Indonesian island to tourists. He was frustrated, however, by the lack of easily available information on Bali's colourful culture and people. Where did their beliefs originate? How did their art develop? Hoefer searched for a guidebook that would provide this information, as well as describe its tourist sites. It would give an insight into the people's values and politics; it would use strong visual images to communicate directly the atmosphere of the destination and the everyday life of its inhabitants; and it would encourage readers to celebrate the essence of the place rather than fashion it to suit their preconceptions. He couldn't find such a book, so he decided to create it. With the financial backing of a local hotel, he published Insight Guide: Bali in 1970.\n\nHe sold his share of the Insight Guide company to Langenscheidt KG, and currently owns Apa Villa, Sri Lanka, one of the top rated get-away hotels. He also owns an 80-foot schooner called Rising Tide. He is married to a retired journalist/reporter Cynthia Hoefer, and has two children, Hans-sen Hoefer and Hanli Hoefer.\n\nReferences\n\nGerman travel writers\nLiving people\nGerman male non-fiction writers\nYear of birth missing (living people)"
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"When did he start?",
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| C_8313ede8658048b1bfa342c647b62f91_1 | Was his research successful? | 5 | Was Harold Innis's research successful? | Harold Innis | Harold Adams Innis was born in 1894 on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him 'Herald', hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist Church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the Church: The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville. Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled 20 miles (32 km) by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him. Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West. Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent". As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result. Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence". It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that this National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada", Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement." In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he would not only need to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade, but would also have to travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience. Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay. Everywhere Innis went his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 9, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition.
Innis's writings on communication explore the role of media in shaping the culture and development of civilizations. He argued, for example, that a balance between oral and written forms of communication contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization in the 5th century BC. He warned, however, that Western civilization is now imperiled by powerful, advertising-driven media obsessed by "present-mindedness" and the "continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity." His intellectual bond with Eric A. Havelock formed the foundations of the Toronto School of communication theory, which provided a source of inspiration for future members of the school: Marshall McLuhan and Edmund Snow Carpenter.
Innis laid the basis for scholarship that looked at the social sciences from a distinctly Canadian point of view. As the head of the University of Toronto's political economy department, he worked to build up a cadre of Canadian scholars so that universities would not continue to rely as heavily on British or American-trained professors unfamiliar with Canada's history and culture. He was successful in establishing sources of financing for Canadian scholarly research.
As the Cold War grew hotter after 1947, Innis grew increasingly hostile to the United States. He warned repeatedly that Canada was becoming a subservient colony to its much more powerful southern neighbor. "We are indeed fighting for our lives," he warned, pointing especially to the "pernicious influence of American advertising.... We can only survive by taking persistent action at strategic points against American imperialism in all its attractive guises." His views influenced some younger scholars, including Donald Creighton.
Innis also tried to defend universities from political and economic pressures. He believed that independent universities, as centres of critical thought, were essential to the survival of Western civilization. His intellectual disciple and university colleague, Marshall McLuhan, lamented Innis's premature death as a disastrous loss for human understanding. McLuhan wrote: "I am pleased to think of my own book The Gutenberg Galaxy as a footnote to the observations of Innis on the subject of the psychic and social consequences, first of writing then of printing."
Rural roots
Early life
Innis was born on November 5, 1894, on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him Herald, hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the church:
The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville.
Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him.
University studies
In October 1913, Innis started classes at McMaster University (then in Toronto). McMaster was a natural choice for him because it was a Baptist university and many students who attended Woodstock College went there. McMaster's liberal arts professors encouraged critical thinking and debate. Innis was especially influenced by , the university's one-man philosophy department. Ten Broeke posed an essay question that Innis pondered for the rest of his life: "Why do we attend to the things to which we attend?"
Before his final undergraduate year at McMaster, Innis spent a summer teaching at the Northern Star School in the frontier farming community of Landonville near Vermilion, Alberta. The experience gave him a sense of the vastness of Canada. He also learned about Western grievances over high interest rates and steep transportation costs. In his final undergraduate year, Innis focused on history and economics. He kept in mind a remark made by history lecturer W. S. Wallace that the economic interpretation of history was not the only possible one but that it went the deepest.
First World War service
After graduating from McMaster, Innis felt that his Christian principles compelled him to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent to France in the fall of 1916 to fight in the First World War. Trench warfare with its "mud and lice and rats" had a devastating effect on him.
Innis's role as an artillery signaller gave him firsthand experience of life (and death) on the front lines as he participated in the successful Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge. Signallers, or spotters, watched where each artillery shell landed, then sent back aiming corrections so that the next shells could hit their targets more accurately. On July 7, 1917, Innis received a serious shrapnel wound in his right thigh that required eight months of hospital treatment in England.
Innis's war was over. His biographer, John Watson, notes the physical wound took seven years to heal, but the psychological damage lasted a lifetime. Innis suffered recurring bouts of depression and nervous exhaustion because of his military service.
Watson also notes that the Great War influenced Innis's intellectual outlook. It strengthened his Canadian nationalism; sharpened his opinion of what he thought were the destructive effects of technology, including the communications media that were used so effectively to "sell" the war; and led him, for the first time, to doubt his Baptist faith.
Graduate studies
McMaster and Chicago
Harold Innis completed a Master of Arts degree at McMaster, graduating in April 1918. His thesis, called The Returned Soldier, "was a detailed description of the public policy measures that were necessary, not only to provide a supportive milieu to help veterans get over the effects of the war, but also to move on with national reconstruction."
Innis did his postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and was awarded his PhD, with a dissertation on the history of Canadian Pacific Railway, in August 1920. His two years at Chicago had a profound influence on his later work. His interest in economics deepened and he decided to become a professional economist. The economics faculty at Chicago questioned abstract and universalist neoclassical theories, then in vogue, arguing that general rules for economic policy should be derived from specific case studies.
Innis was influenced by the university's two eminent communications scholars, George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park. Although he did not attend any of those famous professors' classes, Innis did absorb their idea that communication involved much more than the transmission of information. James W. Carey writes that Mead and Park "characterized communication as the entire process whereby a culture is brought into existence, maintained in time, and sedimented into institutions."
While at Chicago, Innis was exposed to the ideas of Thorstein Veblen, the iconoclastic thinker who drew on his deep knowledge of philosophy and economics to write scathing critiques of contemporary thought and culture. Veblen had left Chicago years before, but his ideas were still strongly felt there. Years later, in an essay on Veblen, Innis praised him for waging war against "standardized static economics."
Innis got his first taste of university teaching at Chicago, where he delivered several introductory economics courses. One of his students was Mary Quayle, the woman he would marry in May 1921 when he was 26 and she 22. Together they had four children, Donald (1924), Mary (1927), Hugh (1930), and Anne (1933). Mary Quayle Innis was herself a notable economist and writer. Her book, An Economic History of Canada, was published in 1935. Her novel, Stand on a Rainbow appeared in 1943. Her other books include Mrs. Simcoe's Diary (1965), The Clear Spirit: Canadian Women and Their Times (1966) and Unfold the Years (1949), a history of the Young Women's Christian Association. She also edited Harold Innis's posthumous Essays in Canadian Economic History (1956) and a 1972 reissue of his Empire and Communications.
Donald Quayle Innis became a geography professor at the State University of New York, Mary married a surgeon and did graduate work in French literature, Hugh Innis became a professor at Ryerson University where he taught communications and economics, Anne Innis Dagg did doctoral work in biology and became an advisor for the independent studies program at the University of Waterloo and published books on zoology, feminism, and Canadian women's history.
History of the CPR
Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West.
Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent." As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result.
Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence." It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that the National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada," Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement."
Staples thesis
Harold Innis is considered the leading founder of a Canadian school of economic thought known as the staples theory. It holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively shaped by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, wood, wheat, mined metals and fossil fuels. Innis theorized that the reliance on exporting natural resources made Canada dependent on more industrially advanced countries and resulted in periodic disruptions to economic life as the international demand for staples rose and fell; as the staple itself became increasingly scarce; and, as technological change resulted in shifts from one staple to others. Innis pointed out, for example, that as furs became scarce and trade in that staple declined, it became necessary to develop and export other staples such as wheat, potash and especially lumber. The export of the new staples was made possible through improved transportation networks that included first canals and later railways.
"Dirt" research
In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he had to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade and also travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience.
Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay.
Everywhere that Innis went, his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories.
Fur trade in Canada
Harold Innis's interest in the relationship between empires and colonies was developed in his classic study, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930). The book chronicles the trade in beaver fur from the early 16th century to the 1920s. Instead of focusing on the "heroic" European adventurers who explored the Canadian wilderness as conventional histories had done, Innis documents how the interplay of geography, technology and economic forces shaped both the fur trade and Canada's political and economic destiny. He argues that the fur trade largely determined Canada's boundaries, and he comes to the conclusion that the country "emerged not in spite of geography but because of it."
In line with that observation, Innis notably proposes that European settlement of the Saint Lawrence River Valley followed the economic and social patterns of indigenous peoples, making for a Canadian historical and cultural continuity that predates and postdates European settlement. Unlike many historians who see Canadian history as beginning with the arrival of Europeans, Innis emphasizes the cultural and economic contributions of First Nations peoples. "We have not yet realized," he writes, "that the Indian and his culture was fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions."
The Innisian perspective on the development of Canadian political, economic and social institutions was an early form of neo-institutionalism, which became an accepted part of the Canadian political science tradition well before American and European counterparts. The Fur Trade in Canada concludes by arguing that Canadian economic history can best be understood by examining how one staple product gave way to another—furs to timber, for example, and the later importance of wheat and minerals. Reliance on staples made Canada economically dependent on more industrially advanced countries and the "cyclonic" shifts from one staple to another caused frequent disruptions in the country's economic life.
The Fur Trade in Canada also describes the cultural interactions among three groups of people: the Europeans in fashionable metropolitan centres who regarded beaver hats as luxury items; the European colonial settlers who saw beaver fur as a staple that could be exported to pay for essential manufactured goods from the home country, and First Nations peoples who traded furs for industrial goods such as metal pots, knives, guns and liquor. Innis describes the central role First Nations peoples played in the development of the fur trade. Without their skilled hunting techniques, knowledge of the territory and advanced tools such as snowshoes, toboggans and birch-bark canoes, the fur trade would not have existed. However, dependence on European technologies disrupted First Nations societies. "The new technology with its radical innovations," Innis writes, "brought about such a rapid shift in the prevailing Indian culture as to lead to wholesale destruction of the peoples concerned by warfare and disease." Historian Carl Berger argues that by placing First Nations culture at the centre of his analysis of the fur trade, Innis "was the first to explain adequately the disintegration of native society under the thrust of European capitalism."
Cod fishery
After the publication of his book on the fur trade, Innis turned to a study of an earlier staple, the cod fished for centuries off the eastern coasts of North America, especially the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The result was The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy published in 1940, 10 years after the fur trade study. Innis tells the detailed history of competing empires in the exploitation of a teeming natural resource, a history that ranges over 500 years. While his study of the fur trade focused on the continental interior with its interlocking rivers and lakes, The Cod Fisheries looks outward at global trade and empire, showing the far-reaching effects of one staple product both on imperial centres and on marginal colonies such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England.
Communications theories
Innis's study of the effects of interconnected lakes and rivers on Canadian development and European empire sparked his interest in the complex economic and cultural relationships between transportation systems and communications. During the 1940s, Innis also began studying pulp and paper, an industry of central importance to the Canadian economy. The research provided an additional crossover point from his work on staple products to his communications studies. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis "followed pulp and paper through its subsequent stages: newspapers and journalism, books and advertising. In other words, from looking at a natural resource-based industry he turned his attention to a cultural industry in which information, and ultimately knowledge, was a commodity that circulated, had value, and empowered those who controlled it."
One of Innis's primary contributions to communications studies was to apply the dimensions of time and space to various media. He divided media into time-binding and space-binding types. Time-binding media are durable and include clay or stone tablets. Space-binding media are more ephemeral and include modern media such as radio, television, and mass circulation newspapers.
Innis examined the rise and fall of ancient empires as a way of tracing the effects of communications media. He looked at media that led to the growth of an empire; those that sustained it during its periods of success, and then, the communications changes that hastened an empire's collapse. He tried to show that media 'biases' toward time or space affected the complex interrelationships needed to sustain an empire. The interrelationships included the partnership between the knowledge (and ideas) necessary to create and maintain an empire and the power (or force) required to expand and defend it. For Innis, the interplay between knowledge and power was always a crucial factor in understanding empire.
Innis argued that a balance between the spoken word and writing contributed to the flourishing of Ancient Greece in the time of Plato. The balance between the time-biased medium of speech and the space-biased medium of writing was eventually upset, Innis argued, as the oral tradition gave way to the dominance of writing. The torch of empire then passed from Greece to Rome.
Innis's analysis of the effects of communications on the rise and fall of empires led him to warn grimly that Western civilization was now facing its own profound crisis. The development of powerful communications media such as mass-circulation newspapers had shifted the balance decisively in favour of space and power, over time, continuity and knowledge. The balance required for cultural survival had been upset by what Innis saw as "mechanized" communications media used to transmit information quickly over long distances. The new media had contributed to an obsession with "present-mindedness", wiping out concerns about past or future. Innis wrote,
The overwhelming pressure of mechanization evident in the newspaper and the magazine, has led to the creation of vast monopolies of communication. Their entrenched positions involve a continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity.
Western civilization could be saved, Innis argued, only by recovering the balance between space and time. For him, that meant reinvigorating the oral tradition within universities while freeing institutions of higher learning from political and commercial pressures. In his essay, A Plea for Time, he suggested that genuine dialogue within universities could produce the critical thinking necessary to restore the balance between power and knowledge. Then, universities could muster the courage to attack the monopolies that always imperil civilization.
Although Innis remains appreciated and respected for the grand and unique nature of his later efforts regarding communications theories, he was not without critics. Particularly, the fragmentary and mosaic writing style exemplified in Empire and Communications has been criticized as ambiguous, aggressively nonlinear, and lacking connections between levels of analysis. Biographers have suggested that the style may have been a result of Innis's illness late in his career.
Academic and public career
Influence in the 1930s
Aside from his work on The Cod Fisheries, Innis wrote extensively in the 1930s about other staple products such as minerals and wheat as well as Canada's immense economic problems in the Great Depression. During the summers of 1932 and 1933, he travelled to the West to see the effects of the Depression for himself. The next year, in an essay entitled, The Canadian Economy and the Depression, Innis outlined the plight of "a country susceptible to the slightest ground-swell of international disturbance" but beset by regional differences that made it difficult to devise effective solutions. He described a prairie economy dependent on the export of wheat but afflicted by severe drought, on the one hand, and the increased political power of Canada's growing cities, sheltered from direct reliance on the staples trade, on the other. The result was political conflict and a breakdown in federal–provincial relations. "We lack vital information on which to base prospective policies to meet this situation," Innis warned, because of "the weak position of the social sciences in Canada."
Innis's reputation as a public intellectual was growing steadily and, in 1934, Premier Angus Lewis Macdonald invited him to serve on a Royal Commission to examine Nova Scotia's economic problems. The next year, he helped establish The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. In 1936, he was appointed a full University of Toronto professor and a year later, became the head of the university's Department of Political Economy.
Innis was appointed president of the Canadian Political Science Association in 1938. His inaugural address, The Penetrative Powers of the Price System, must have baffled his listeners as he ranged over centuries of economic history jumping abruptly from one topic to the next linking monetary developments to patterns of trade and settlement. The address was an ambitious attempt to show the disruptive effects of new technologies culminating in the modern shift from an industrial system based on coal and iron to the newest sources of industrial power, electricity, oil, and steel. Innis also tried to show the commercial effects of mass circulation newspapers, made possible by expanded newsprint production, and of the new medium of radio, which "threatens to circumvent the walls imposed by tariffs and to reach across boundaries frequently denied to other media of communication." Both media, Innis argued, stimulated the demand for consumer goods and both promoted nationalism.
Innis was also a central participant in an international project that produced 25 scholarly volumes between 1936 and 1945. It was a series called The Relations of Canada and the United States overseen by James T. Shotwell, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Innis edited and wrote prefaces for the volumes contributed by Canadian scholars. His own study of the cod fisheries also appeared as part of the series. His work with Shotwell enabled Innis to gain access to Carnegie money to further Canadian academic research. As John Watson points out, "the project offered one of the few sources of research funds in rather lean times."
Politics and the Great Depression
The era of the "Dirty Thirties" with its mass unemployment, poverty and despair gave rise to new Canadian political movements. In Alberta, for example, the radio evangelist William "Bible Bill" Aberhart led his populist Social Credit party to victory in 1935. Three years earlier in Calgary, Alberta, social reformers had founded a new political party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It advocated democratic socialism and a mixed economy with public ownership of key industries. Frank Underhill, one of Innis's colleagues at the University of Toronto was a founding member of the CCF. Innis and Underhill had both been members of an earlier group at the university that declared itself "dissatisfied with the policies of the two major [political] parties in Canada" and that aimed at "forming a definite body of progressive opinion." In 1931, Innis presented a paper to the group on "Economic Conditions in Canada", but he later recoiled from participating in party politics, denouncing partisans like Underhill as "hot gospellers."
Innis maintained that scholars had no place in active politics and that they should instead devote themselves, first to research on public problems, and then to the production of knowledge based on critical thought. He saw the university, with its emphasis on dialogue, open-mindedness and skepticism, as an institution that could foster such thinking and research. "The university could provide an environment," he wrote, "as free as possible from the biases of the various institutions that form the state, so that its intellectuals could continue to seek out and explore other perspectives."
Although sympathetic to the plight of western farmers and urban, unemployed workers, Innis did not embrace socialism. Eric Havelock, a left-leaning colleague explained many years later that Innis distrusted political "solutions" imported from elsewhere, especially those based on Marxist analysis with its emphasis on class conflict. He worried, too, that as Canada's ties with Britain weakened, the country would fall under the spell of American ideas instead of developing its own based on Canada's unique circumstances. Havelock added:
He has been called the radical conservative of his day — not a bad designation of a complex mind, clear sighted, cautious, perhaps at bottom pessimistic in areas where thinkers we would label 'progressive' felt less difficulty in taking a stand; never content to select only one or two elements in a complicated equation in order to build a quick-order policy or program; far ranging enough in intellect to take in the whole sum of the factors, and comprehend their often contradictory effects.
Late career and death
In the 1940s, Harold Innis reached the height of his influence in both academic circles and Canadian society. In 1941, he helped establish the American-based Economic History Association and its Journal of Economic History. He later became the association's second president. Innis played a central role in founding two important sources for the funding of academic research: the Canadian Social Science Research Council (1940) and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (1944).
In 1944, the University of New Brunswick awarded Innis an honorary degree, as did his alma mater, McMaster University. Université Laval, the University of Manitoba and the University of Glasgow would also confer honorary degrees in 1947–48.
In 1945, Innis spent nearly a month in the Soviet Union where he had been invited to attend the 220th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the country's Academy of Sciences. Later, in his essay Reflections on Russia, he mused about the differences between the Soviet "producer" economy and the West's "consumer" ethos:
[A]n economy which emphasizes consumer's goods is characterized by communication industries largely dependent on advertising and by constant efforts to reach the largest number of readers or listeners; an economy emphasizing producer's goods is characterized by communications industries largely dependent on government support. As a result of this contrast, a common public opinion in Russia and the West is hard to achieve.
Innis's trip to Moscow and Leningrad came shortly before US–Soviet rivalry led to the hostility of the Cold War. Innis lamented the rise in international tensions. He saw the Soviet Union as a stabilizing counterbalance to the American emphasis on commercialism, the individual and constant change. For Innis, Russia was a society within the Western tradition, not an alien civilization. He abhorred the nuclear arms race and saw it as the triumph of force over knowledge, a modern form of the medieval Inquisition. "The Middle Ages burned its heretics," he wrote, "and the modern age threatens them with atom bombs."
In 1946, Innis was elected president of the Royal Society of Canada, the country's senior body of scientists and scholars. The same year, he served on the Manitoba Royal Commission on Adult Education and published Political Economy in the Modern State, a collection of his speeches and essays that reflected both his staples research and his new work in communications. In 1947, Innis was appointed the University of Toronto's dean of graduate studies. In 1948, he delivered lectures at the University of London and Nottingham University. He also gave the prestigious Beit lectures at Oxford, later published in his book Empire and Communications. In 1949, Innis was appointed as a commissioner on the federal government's Royal Commission on Transportation, a position that involved extensive travel at a time when his health was starting to fail. The last decade of his career, during which he worked on his communications studies, was an unhappy time for Innis. He was academically isolated because his colleagues in economics could not fathom how the new work related to his pioneering research in staples theory. Biographer John Watson writes that "the almost complete lack of positive response to the communications works, contributed to his sense of overwork and depression."
Innis died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1952, a few days after his 58th birthday. In commemoration, Innis College at the University of Toronto and Innis Library at McMaster University were named in his honour.
Following his premature death, Innis' significance increasingly deepened as scholars in several academic disciplines continued to build upon his writings. Marshall Poe's general media theory that proposes two sub-theories were inspired by Innis. Douglas C. North expanded on Innis' "vent for surplus" theory of economic development by applying it to regional development in the United States and underdeveloped countries. In addition, James W. Carey adopted Innis as a "reference point in his conception of two models of communication."
Innis and McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan was a colleague of Innis's at the University of Toronto. As a young English professor, McLuhan was flattered when he learned that Innis had put his book The Mechanical Bride on the reading list of the fourth-year economics course. McLuhan built on Innis's idea that in studying the effects of communications media, technological form mattered more than content. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis's concept of the "bias" of a particular medium of communication can be seen as a "less flamboyant precursor to McLuhan's legendary phrase 'the medium is the message.'" Innis, for example, tried to show how printed media such as books or newspapers were "biased" toward control over space and secular power, while engraved media such as stone or clay tablets were "biased" in favour of continuity in time and metaphysical or religious knowledge. McLuhan focused on what may be called a medium's "sensory bias" arguing, for example, that books and newspapers appealed to the rationality of the eye, while radio played to the irrationality of the ear. The differences in the Innisian and McLuhanesque approaches were summarized by the late James W. Carey:
Both McLuhan and Innis assume the centrality of communication technology; where they differ is in the principal kinds of effects they see deriving from this technology. Whereas Innis sees communication technology principally affecting social organization and culture, McLuhan sees its principal effect on sensory organization and thought. McLuhan has much to say about perception and thought but little to say about institutions; Innis says much about institutions and little about perception and thought.
Biographer John Watson notes that Innis's work was profoundly political while McLuhan's was not. He writes that "the mechanization of knowledge, not the relative sensual bias of media, is the key to Innis's work. That also underlies the politicization of Innis's position vis-a-vis that of McLuhan." Watson adds that Innis believed very different media could produce similar effects. "For Innis, the yellow press of the United States and the Nazi loudspeaker had the same form of negative effect: they reduced men from thinking beings to mere automatons in a chain of command." Watson argues that while McLuhan separated media according to their sensory bias, Innis examined a different set of interrelationships, the "dialectic of power and knowledge" in specific historical circumstances. For Watson, Innis's work is therefore more flexible and less deterministic than McLuhan's.
As scholars and teachers, Innis and McLuhan shared a similar dilemma since both argued that book culture tended to produce fixed points of view and homogeneity of thought; yet both produced many books. In his introduction to the 1964 reprint of The Bias of Communication, McLuhan marvelled at Innis's technique of juxtaposing "his insights in a mosaic structure of seemingly unrelated and disproportioned sentences and aphorisms." McLuhan argued that although that made reading Innis's dense prose difficult ("a pattern of insights that are not packaged for the consumer palate"), Innis's method approximated "the natural form of conversation or dialogue rather than of written discourse." Best of all, it yielded "insight" and "pattern recognition" rather than the "classified knowledge" so overvalued by print-trained scholars. "How exciting it was to encounter a writer whose every phrase invited prolonged meditation and exploration," McLuhan added. McLuhan's own books with their reliance on aphorisms, puns, quips, "probes" and oddly juxtaposed observations also employ that mosaic technique.
Innis's theories of political economy, media and society remain highly relevant: he had a profound influence on critical media theory and communications and, in conjunction with McLuhan, offered groundbreaking Canadian perspectives on the function of communication technologies as key agents in social and historical change. Together, their works advanced a theory of history in which communication is central to social change and transformation.
Selected works
1923. A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Revised edition (1971). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. Revised edition (1956). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. Peter Pond, Fur Trader and Adventurer. Toronto: Irwin & Gordon.
1940. The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1946. Political Economy in the Modern State. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1948. The Diary of Simeon Perkins: 1766–1780. Toronto: Champlain Society. [editor]
1950. Empire and Communications. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1951. The Bias of Communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. The Strategy of Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. Changing Concepts of Time. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1956. Essays in Canadian Economic History, edited by Mary Q. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1980. The Idea File of Harold Adams Innis, edited by William Christian. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
See also
Historiography of Canada
History of communication
History of technology
Innis-Gérin Medal
Metropolitan-hinterland thesis
Monopolies of knowledge
Orality
Technological nationalism
Notes
References
Aitken, Hugh Gj. (1977) "Myth and Measurement-Innis Tradition in Economic-History." Journal of Canadian Studies 12#5 : 96-105.
Babe, Robert. (2000). "The Communication Thought of Harold Adams Innis." In Canadian Communication Thought: Ten Foundational Writers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 51–88.
Berger, Carl. (1976). "Harold Innis: The Search for Limits." In The Writing of Canadian History. Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–111.
Bonnett, John (2013). Emergence and Empire: Innis, Complexity and the Trajectory of History. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
Buxton, William J. (1998) "Harold Innis' excavation of modernity: The newspaper industry, communications, and the decline of public life." Canadian Journal of Communication 23.3 (1998).
Carey, J. W. (1992). "Space, Time and Communications: A Tribute to Harold Innis." In Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. New York: Routledge. pp. 142–72.
Creighton, Donald. (1957). Harold Adams Innis: Portrait of a Scholar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dickason, Olive; MacNab, David. (2009) Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. Fourth Edition. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Easterbrook, W.T. and Watkins, M.H. (1984) "Introduction" and "Part 1: The Staple Approach." In Approaches to Canadian Economic History. Ottawa: The Carleton Library Series. Carleton University Press.
Havelock, Eric. (1982). Harold A. Innis: a memoir (with a preface by H. Marshall McLuhan). Toronto: Harold Innis Foundation.
Heyer, Paul. (2003). Harold Innis. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hutcheson, John. (1982) "Harold Innis and the Unity and Diversity of Confederation," Journal of Canadian Studies 1#1 pp 57–73.
Innis, Mary Quayle. (1935) An Economic History of Canada. Toronto: Ryerson Press.
Kroker, Arthur. (1984). Technology and the Canadian Mind: Innis/McLuhan/Grant. Montreal: New World Perspectives.
McLuhan, Marshall. (2005) "Introduction to the Bias of Communication: [Harold A. Innis first edition 1951.]" In Marshall McLuhan Unbound. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press. v.8.
Neill, Robin. (1972). A New Theory of Value: The Canadian Economics of H.A. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Patterson, Graeme. (1990) History and Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, the Interpretation of History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Vancouver Public Library. (1999) "The Bias of Communication" and "The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History." In Great Canadian Books of the Century. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Watson, Alexander John. (2006). Marginal Man: The Dark Vision of Harold Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
External links
Innis Family, Harold Innis Foundation, and Harold Innis archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
Harold Adams Innis by Robin Neill, EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. January 10, 2005.
Harold Adams Innis: The Bias of Communications & Monopolies of Power by Dr. Marshall Soules, Malaspina University-College, 2007.
Harold Innis and the Press by Robert E. Babe., Fifth-Estate-Online – International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism.
Old Messengers, New Media: The Legacy of Innis and McLuhan, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada.
Harold Adams Innis entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Mary Quayle Innis special collection at the University of Waterloo.
Harold Innis Foundation fonds held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
1894 births
1952 deaths
20th-century Canadian historians
20th-century economists
Canadian agnostics
Canadian economists
Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian political philosophers
Communication theorists
Economic historians
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Historians of Canada
Historians of printing
Literacy and society theorists
McMaster University alumni
McMaster University faculty
North American cultural studies
People from Oxford County, Ontario
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Presidents of the American Economic Association
Theorists on Western civilization
University of Chicago alumni
University of Toronto faculty | false | [
"Robert Louis Kahn (March 28, 1918 – January 6, 2019) was an American psychologist and social scientist, specializing in organizational theory and survey research, having been considered a \"founding father\" of the modern approach to these disciplines. He has also been involved in developing studies on aging and his work is critically acclaimed by experts.\n\nBiography\nKahn was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 28, 1918. He earned his PhD at the University of Michigan and was one of the founding members of the Institute for Social Research. He taught at the University of Michigan from 1948 to 1976, and directed the \"Survey Research Center\".\n\nIn 1963 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. He was president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in 1970.\n\nKahn died in Burlington, Vermont on January 6, 2019.\n\nThought\nKahn's work on organizational theory, including the book \"The Social Psychology of Organizations\" (1966) that he co-authored with Daniel Katz, has been described as \"a major influence on the field of organizational research, applying a framework of open system theory—the assumption that an organization continuously interacts with its environment—to research on leadership, role behavior, and organizational effectiveness\". \nKahn has also been appraised as a leading scholar in the study of aging, especially after the publication of \"Successful Aging\" (1998) that he co-authored with John Wallis Rowe. The book and other pertaining research on the topic by Kahn and collaborators have contributed to the understanding of mechanisms of successful aging.\n\nPublications\n 1966. The Social Psychology of Organizations, co-authored with Daniel Katz.\n 1998. Successful Aging, co-authored with John Wallis Rowe.\n\nReferences\n\n1918 births\n2019 deaths\nAmerican psychologists\nAmerican sociologists\nUniversity of Michigan alumni\nUniversity of Michigan faculty\nFellows of the American Statistical Association\nAmerican centenarians\nMen centenarians",
"Timothy John Phillip Hubbard is a Professor of Bioinformatics at King's College London, Head of Genome Analysis at Genomics England and Honorary Faculty at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK.\n\nEducation\nHubbard was educated at the University of Cambridge where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) in 1985. He went on to do research in protein design in the Department of Crystallography, Birkbeck College, London where he was awarded a PhD in 1988 for research supervised by Tom Blundell.\n\nResearch and career\nHubbard's research interests are in Bioinformatics, Computational biology and Genome Informatics. During his tenure at WTSI he supervised several successful PhD students to completion in these areas of research.\n\nHubbard was appointed Professor of Bioinformatics at King's in October 2013. His research has been published in leading peer reviewed scientific journals including Nature, the Journal of Molecular Biology, Nucleic Acids Research, Genome Biology, Nature Methods, Nature Reviews Cancer and Bioinformatics. His research been funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nBritish bioinformaticians\nAlumni of Clare College, Cambridge\nAcademics of King's College London\nYear of birth missing (living people)"
]
|
[
"Harold Innis",
"\"Dirt\" research",
"What is dirt research?",
"gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called \"dirt\" experience.",
"What kind of information was he gathering?",
"archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade,",
"When did he start?",
"Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924",
"Where did he travel?",
"he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca;",
"Was his research successful?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_8313ede8658048b1bfa342c647b62f91_1 | How long did he travel? | 6 | How long did Harold Innis travel? | Harold Innis | Harold Adams Innis was born in 1894 on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him 'Herald', hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist Church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the Church: The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville. Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled 20 miles (32 km) by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him. Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West. Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent". As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result. Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence". It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that this National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada", Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement." In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he would not only need to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade, but would also have to travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience. Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay. Everywhere Innis went his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories. CANNOTANSWER | He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada | Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 9, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition.
Innis's writings on communication explore the role of media in shaping the culture and development of civilizations. He argued, for example, that a balance between oral and written forms of communication contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization in the 5th century BC. He warned, however, that Western civilization is now imperiled by powerful, advertising-driven media obsessed by "present-mindedness" and the "continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity." His intellectual bond with Eric A. Havelock formed the foundations of the Toronto School of communication theory, which provided a source of inspiration for future members of the school: Marshall McLuhan and Edmund Snow Carpenter.
Innis laid the basis for scholarship that looked at the social sciences from a distinctly Canadian point of view. As the head of the University of Toronto's political economy department, he worked to build up a cadre of Canadian scholars so that universities would not continue to rely as heavily on British or American-trained professors unfamiliar with Canada's history and culture. He was successful in establishing sources of financing for Canadian scholarly research.
As the Cold War grew hotter after 1947, Innis grew increasingly hostile to the United States. He warned repeatedly that Canada was becoming a subservient colony to its much more powerful southern neighbor. "We are indeed fighting for our lives," he warned, pointing especially to the "pernicious influence of American advertising.... We can only survive by taking persistent action at strategic points against American imperialism in all its attractive guises." His views influenced some younger scholars, including Donald Creighton.
Innis also tried to defend universities from political and economic pressures. He believed that independent universities, as centres of critical thought, were essential to the survival of Western civilization. His intellectual disciple and university colleague, Marshall McLuhan, lamented Innis's premature death as a disastrous loss for human understanding. McLuhan wrote: "I am pleased to think of my own book The Gutenberg Galaxy as a footnote to the observations of Innis on the subject of the psychic and social consequences, first of writing then of printing."
Rural roots
Early life
Innis was born on November 5, 1894, on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him Herald, hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the church:
The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville.
Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him.
University studies
In October 1913, Innis started classes at McMaster University (then in Toronto). McMaster was a natural choice for him because it was a Baptist university and many students who attended Woodstock College went there. McMaster's liberal arts professors encouraged critical thinking and debate. Innis was especially influenced by , the university's one-man philosophy department. Ten Broeke posed an essay question that Innis pondered for the rest of his life: "Why do we attend to the things to which we attend?"
Before his final undergraduate year at McMaster, Innis spent a summer teaching at the Northern Star School in the frontier farming community of Landonville near Vermilion, Alberta. The experience gave him a sense of the vastness of Canada. He also learned about Western grievances over high interest rates and steep transportation costs. In his final undergraduate year, Innis focused on history and economics. He kept in mind a remark made by history lecturer W. S. Wallace that the economic interpretation of history was not the only possible one but that it went the deepest.
First World War service
After graduating from McMaster, Innis felt that his Christian principles compelled him to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent to France in the fall of 1916 to fight in the First World War. Trench warfare with its "mud and lice and rats" had a devastating effect on him.
Innis's role as an artillery signaller gave him firsthand experience of life (and death) on the front lines as he participated in the successful Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge. Signallers, or spotters, watched where each artillery shell landed, then sent back aiming corrections so that the next shells could hit their targets more accurately. On July 7, 1917, Innis received a serious shrapnel wound in his right thigh that required eight months of hospital treatment in England.
Innis's war was over. His biographer, John Watson, notes the physical wound took seven years to heal, but the psychological damage lasted a lifetime. Innis suffered recurring bouts of depression and nervous exhaustion because of his military service.
Watson also notes that the Great War influenced Innis's intellectual outlook. It strengthened his Canadian nationalism; sharpened his opinion of what he thought were the destructive effects of technology, including the communications media that were used so effectively to "sell" the war; and led him, for the first time, to doubt his Baptist faith.
Graduate studies
McMaster and Chicago
Harold Innis completed a Master of Arts degree at McMaster, graduating in April 1918. His thesis, called The Returned Soldier, "was a detailed description of the public policy measures that were necessary, not only to provide a supportive milieu to help veterans get over the effects of the war, but also to move on with national reconstruction."
Innis did his postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and was awarded his PhD, with a dissertation on the history of Canadian Pacific Railway, in August 1920. His two years at Chicago had a profound influence on his later work. His interest in economics deepened and he decided to become a professional economist. The economics faculty at Chicago questioned abstract and universalist neoclassical theories, then in vogue, arguing that general rules for economic policy should be derived from specific case studies.
Innis was influenced by the university's two eminent communications scholars, George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park. Although he did not attend any of those famous professors' classes, Innis did absorb their idea that communication involved much more than the transmission of information. James W. Carey writes that Mead and Park "characterized communication as the entire process whereby a culture is brought into existence, maintained in time, and sedimented into institutions."
While at Chicago, Innis was exposed to the ideas of Thorstein Veblen, the iconoclastic thinker who drew on his deep knowledge of philosophy and economics to write scathing critiques of contemporary thought and culture. Veblen had left Chicago years before, but his ideas were still strongly felt there. Years later, in an essay on Veblen, Innis praised him for waging war against "standardized static economics."
Innis got his first taste of university teaching at Chicago, where he delivered several introductory economics courses. One of his students was Mary Quayle, the woman he would marry in May 1921 when he was 26 and she 22. Together they had four children, Donald (1924), Mary (1927), Hugh (1930), and Anne (1933). Mary Quayle Innis was herself a notable economist and writer. Her book, An Economic History of Canada, was published in 1935. Her novel, Stand on a Rainbow appeared in 1943. Her other books include Mrs. Simcoe's Diary (1965), The Clear Spirit: Canadian Women and Their Times (1966) and Unfold the Years (1949), a history of the Young Women's Christian Association. She also edited Harold Innis's posthumous Essays in Canadian Economic History (1956) and a 1972 reissue of his Empire and Communications.
Donald Quayle Innis became a geography professor at the State University of New York, Mary married a surgeon and did graduate work in French literature, Hugh Innis became a professor at Ryerson University where he taught communications and economics, Anne Innis Dagg did doctoral work in biology and became an advisor for the independent studies program at the University of Waterloo and published books on zoology, feminism, and Canadian women's history.
History of the CPR
Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West.
Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent." As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result.
Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence." It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that the National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada," Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement."
Staples thesis
Harold Innis is considered the leading founder of a Canadian school of economic thought known as the staples theory. It holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively shaped by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, wood, wheat, mined metals and fossil fuels. Innis theorized that the reliance on exporting natural resources made Canada dependent on more industrially advanced countries and resulted in periodic disruptions to economic life as the international demand for staples rose and fell; as the staple itself became increasingly scarce; and, as technological change resulted in shifts from one staple to others. Innis pointed out, for example, that as furs became scarce and trade in that staple declined, it became necessary to develop and export other staples such as wheat, potash and especially lumber. The export of the new staples was made possible through improved transportation networks that included first canals and later railways.
"Dirt" research
In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he had to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade and also travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience.
Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay.
Everywhere that Innis went, his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories.
Fur trade in Canada
Harold Innis's interest in the relationship between empires and colonies was developed in his classic study, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930). The book chronicles the trade in beaver fur from the early 16th century to the 1920s. Instead of focusing on the "heroic" European adventurers who explored the Canadian wilderness as conventional histories had done, Innis documents how the interplay of geography, technology and economic forces shaped both the fur trade and Canada's political and economic destiny. He argues that the fur trade largely determined Canada's boundaries, and he comes to the conclusion that the country "emerged not in spite of geography but because of it."
In line with that observation, Innis notably proposes that European settlement of the Saint Lawrence River Valley followed the economic and social patterns of indigenous peoples, making for a Canadian historical and cultural continuity that predates and postdates European settlement. Unlike many historians who see Canadian history as beginning with the arrival of Europeans, Innis emphasizes the cultural and economic contributions of First Nations peoples. "We have not yet realized," he writes, "that the Indian and his culture was fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions."
The Innisian perspective on the development of Canadian political, economic and social institutions was an early form of neo-institutionalism, which became an accepted part of the Canadian political science tradition well before American and European counterparts. The Fur Trade in Canada concludes by arguing that Canadian economic history can best be understood by examining how one staple product gave way to another—furs to timber, for example, and the later importance of wheat and minerals. Reliance on staples made Canada economically dependent on more industrially advanced countries and the "cyclonic" shifts from one staple to another caused frequent disruptions in the country's economic life.
The Fur Trade in Canada also describes the cultural interactions among three groups of people: the Europeans in fashionable metropolitan centres who regarded beaver hats as luxury items; the European colonial settlers who saw beaver fur as a staple that could be exported to pay for essential manufactured goods from the home country, and First Nations peoples who traded furs for industrial goods such as metal pots, knives, guns and liquor. Innis describes the central role First Nations peoples played in the development of the fur trade. Without their skilled hunting techniques, knowledge of the territory and advanced tools such as snowshoes, toboggans and birch-bark canoes, the fur trade would not have existed. However, dependence on European technologies disrupted First Nations societies. "The new technology with its radical innovations," Innis writes, "brought about such a rapid shift in the prevailing Indian culture as to lead to wholesale destruction of the peoples concerned by warfare and disease." Historian Carl Berger argues that by placing First Nations culture at the centre of his analysis of the fur trade, Innis "was the first to explain adequately the disintegration of native society under the thrust of European capitalism."
Cod fishery
After the publication of his book on the fur trade, Innis turned to a study of an earlier staple, the cod fished for centuries off the eastern coasts of North America, especially the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The result was The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy published in 1940, 10 years after the fur trade study. Innis tells the detailed history of competing empires in the exploitation of a teeming natural resource, a history that ranges over 500 years. While his study of the fur trade focused on the continental interior with its interlocking rivers and lakes, The Cod Fisheries looks outward at global trade and empire, showing the far-reaching effects of one staple product both on imperial centres and on marginal colonies such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England.
Communications theories
Innis's study of the effects of interconnected lakes and rivers on Canadian development and European empire sparked his interest in the complex economic and cultural relationships between transportation systems and communications. During the 1940s, Innis also began studying pulp and paper, an industry of central importance to the Canadian economy. The research provided an additional crossover point from his work on staple products to his communications studies. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis "followed pulp and paper through its subsequent stages: newspapers and journalism, books and advertising. In other words, from looking at a natural resource-based industry he turned his attention to a cultural industry in which information, and ultimately knowledge, was a commodity that circulated, had value, and empowered those who controlled it."
One of Innis's primary contributions to communications studies was to apply the dimensions of time and space to various media. He divided media into time-binding and space-binding types. Time-binding media are durable and include clay or stone tablets. Space-binding media are more ephemeral and include modern media such as radio, television, and mass circulation newspapers.
Innis examined the rise and fall of ancient empires as a way of tracing the effects of communications media. He looked at media that led to the growth of an empire; those that sustained it during its periods of success, and then, the communications changes that hastened an empire's collapse. He tried to show that media 'biases' toward time or space affected the complex interrelationships needed to sustain an empire. The interrelationships included the partnership between the knowledge (and ideas) necessary to create and maintain an empire and the power (or force) required to expand and defend it. For Innis, the interplay between knowledge and power was always a crucial factor in understanding empire.
Innis argued that a balance between the spoken word and writing contributed to the flourishing of Ancient Greece in the time of Plato. The balance between the time-biased medium of speech and the space-biased medium of writing was eventually upset, Innis argued, as the oral tradition gave way to the dominance of writing. The torch of empire then passed from Greece to Rome.
Innis's analysis of the effects of communications on the rise and fall of empires led him to warn grimly that Western civilization was now facing its own profound crisis. The development of powerful communications media such as mass-circulation newspapers had shifted the balance decisively in favour of space and power, over time, continuity and knowledge. The balance required for cultural survival had been upset by what Innis saw as "mechanized" communications media used to transmit information quickly over long distances. The new media had contributed to an obsession with "present-mindedness", wiping out concerns about past or future. Innis wrote,
The overwhelming pressure of mechanization evident in the newspaper and the magazine, has led to the creation of vast monopolies of communication. Their entrenched positions involve a continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity.
Western civilization could be saved, Innis argued, only by recovering the balance between space and time. For him, that meant reinvigorating the oral tradition within universities while freeing institutions of higher learning from political and commercial pressures. In his essay, A Plea for Time, he suggested that genuine dialogue within universities could produce the critical thinking necessary to restore the balance between power and knowledge. Then, universities could muster the courage to attack the monopolies that always imperil civilization.
Although Innis remains appreciated and respected for the grand and unique nature of his later efforts regarding communications theories, he was not without critics. Particularly, the fragmentary and mosaic writing style exemplified in Empire and Communications has been criticized as ambiguous, aggressively nonlinear, and lacking connections between levels of analysis. Biographers have suggested that the style may have been a result of Innis's illness late in his career.
Academic and public career
Influence in the 1930s
Aside from his work on The Cod Fisheries, Innis wrote extensively in the 1930s about other staple products such as minerals and wheat as well as Canada's immense economic problems in the Great Depression. During the summers of 1932 and 1933, he travelled to the West to see the effects of the Depression for himself. The next year, in an essay entitled, The Canadian Economy and the Depression, Innis outlined the plight of "a country susceptible to the slightest ground-swell of international disturbance" but beset by regional differences that made it difficult to devise effective solutions. He described a prairie economy dependent on the export of wheat but afflicted by severe drought, on the one hand, and the increased political power of Canada's growing cities, sheltered from direct reliance on the staples trade, on the other. The result was political conflict and a breakdown in federal–provincial relations. "We lack vital information on which to base prospective policies to meet this situation," Innis warned, because of "the weak position of the social sciences in Canada."
Innis's reputation as a public intellectual was growing steadily and, in 1934, Premier Angus Lewis Macdonald invited him to serve on a Royal Commission to examine Nova Scotia's economic problems. The next year, he helped establish The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. In 1936, he was appointed a full University of Toronto professor and a year later, became the head of the university's Department of Political Economy.
Innis was appointed president of the Canadian Political Science Association in 1938. His inaugural address, The Penetrative Powers of the Price System, must have baffled his listeners as he ranged over centuries of economic history jumping abruptly from one topic to the next linking monetary developments to patterns of trade and settlement. The address was an ambitious attempt to show the disruptive effects of new technologies culminating in the modern shift from an industrial system based on coal and iron to the newest sources of industrial power, electricity, oil, and steel. Innis also tried to show the commercial effects of mass circulation newspapers, made possible by expanded newsprint production, and of the new medium of radio, which "threatens to circumvent the walls imposed by tariffs and to reach across boundaries frequently denied to other media of communication." Both media, Innis argued, stimulated the demand for consumer goods and both promoted nationalism.
Innis was also a central participant in an international project that produced 25 scholarly volumes between 1936 and 1945. It was a series called The Relations of Canada and the United States overseen by James T. Shotwell, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Innis edited and wrote prefaces for the volumes contributed by Canadian scholars. His own study of the cod fisheries also appeared as part of the series. His work with Shotwell enabled Innis to gain access to Carnegie money to further Canadian academic research. As John Watson points out, "the project offered one of the few sources of research funds in rather lean times."
Politics and the Great Depression
The era of the "Dirty Thirties" with its mass unemployment, poverty and despair gave rise to new Canadian political movements. In Alberta, for example, the radio evangelist William "Bible Bill" Aberhart led his populist Social Credit party to victory in 1935. Three years earlier in Calgary, Alberta, social reformers had founded a new political party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It advocated democratic socialism and a mixed economy with public ownership of key industries. Frank Underhill, one of Innis's colleagues at the University of Toronto was a founding member of the CCF. Innis and Underhill had both been members of an earlier group at the university that declared itself "dissatisfied with the policies of the two major [political] parties in Canada" and that aimed at "forming a definite body of progressive opinion." In 1931, Innis presented a paper to the group on "Economic Conditions in Canada", but he later recoiled from participating in party politics, denouncing partisans like Underhill as "hot gospellers."
Innis maintained that scholars had no place in active politics and that they should instead devote themselves, first to research on public problems, and then to the production of knowledge based on critical thought. He saw the university, with its emphasis on dialogue, open-mindedness and skepticism, as an institution that could foster such thinking and research. "The university could provide an environment," he wrote, "as free as possible from the biases of the various institutions that form the state, so that its intellectuals could continue to seek out and explore other perspectives."
Although sympathetic to the plight of western farmers and urban, unemployed workers, Innis did not embrace socialism. Eric Havelock, a left-leaning colleague explained many years later that Innis distrusted political "solutions" imported from elsewhere, especially those based on Marxist analysis with its emphasis on class conflict. He worried, too, that as Canada's ties with Britain weakened, the country would fall under the spell of American ideas instead of developing its own based on Canada's unique circumstances. Havelock added:
He has been called the radical conservative of his day — not a bad designation of a complex mind, clear sighted, cautious, perhaps at bottom pessimistic in areas where thinkers we would label 'progressive' felt less difficulty in taking a stand; never content to select only one or two elements in a complicated equation in order to build a quick-order policy or program; far ranging enough in intellect to take in the whole sum of the factors, and comprehend their often contradictory effects.
Late career and death
In the 1940s, Harold Innis reached the height of his influence in both academic circles and Canadian society. In 1941, he helped establish the American-based Economic History Association and its Journal of Economic History. He later became the association's second president. Innis played a central role in founding two important sources for the funding of academic research: the Canadian Social Science Research Council (1940) and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (1944).
In 1944, the University of New Brunswick awarded Innis an honorary degree, as did his alma mater, McMaster University. Université Laval, the University of Manitoba and the University of Glasgow would also confer honorary degrees in 1947–48.
In 1945, Innis spent nearly a month in the Soviet Union where he had been invited to attend the 220th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the country's Academy of Sciences. Later, in his essay Reflections on Russia, he mused about the differences between the Soviet "producer" economy and the West's "consumer" ethos:
[A]n economy which emphasizes consumer's goods is characterized by communication industries largely dependent on advertising and by constant efforts to reach the largest number of readers or listeners; an economy emphasizing producer's goods is characterized by communications industries largely dependent on government support. As a result of this contrast, a common public opinion in Russia and the West is hard to achieve.
Innis's trip to Moscow and Leningrad came shortly before US–Soviet rivalry led to the hostility of the Cold War. Innis lamented the rise in international tensions. He saw the Soviet Union as a stabilizing counterbalance to the American emphasis on commercialism, the individual and constant change. For Innis, Russia was a society within the Western tradition, not an alien civilization. He abhorred the nuclear arms race and saw it as the triumph of force over knowledge, a modern form of the medieval Inquisition. "The Middle Ages burned its heretics," he wrote, "and the modern age threatens them with atom bombs."
In 1946, Innis was elected president of the Royal Society of Canada, the country's senior body of scientists and scholars. The same year, he served on the Manitoba Royal Commission on Adult Education and published Political Economy in the Modern State, a collection of his speeches and essays that reflected both his staples research and his new work in communications. In 1947, Innis was appointed the University of Toronto's dean of graduate studies. In 1948, he delivered lectures at the University of London and Nottingham University. He also gave the prestigious Beit lectures at Oxford, later published in his book Empire and Communications. In 1949, Innis was appointed as a commissioner on the federal government's Royal Commission on Transportation, a position that involved extensive travel at a time when his health was starting to fail. The last decade of his career, during which he worked on his communications studies, was an unhappy time for Innis. He was academically isolated because his colleagues in economics could not fathom how the new work related to his pioneering research in staples theory. Biographer John Watson writes that "the almost complete lack of positive response to the communications works, contributed to his sense of overwork and depression."
Innis died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1952, a few days after his 58th birthday. In commemoration, Innis College at the University of Toronto and Innis Library at McMaster University were named in his honour.
Following his premature death, Innis' significance increasingly deepened as scholars in several academic disciplines continued to build upon his writings. Marshall Poe's general media theory that proposes two sub-theories were inspired by Innis. Douglas C. North expanded on Innis' "vent for surplus" theory of economic development by applying it to regional development in the United States and underdeveloped countries. In addition, James W. Carey adopted Innis as a "reference point in his conception of two models of communication."
Innis and McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan was a colleague of Innis's at the University of Toronto. As a young English professor, McLuhan was flattered when he learned that Innis had put his book The Mechanical Bride on the reading list of the fourth-year economics course. McLuhan built on Innis's idea that in studying the effects of communications media, technological form mattered more than content. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis's concept of the "bias" of a particular medium of communication can be seen as a "less flamboyant precursor to McLuhan's legendary phrase 'the medium is the message.'" Innis, for example, tried to show how printed media such as books or newspapers were "biased" toward control over space and secular power, while engraved media such as stone or clay tablets were "biased" in favour of continuity in time and metaphysical or religious knowledge. McLuhan focused on what may be called a medium's "sensory bias" arguing, for example, that books and newspapers appealed to the rationality of the eye, while radio played to the irrationality of the ear. The differences in the Innisian and McLuhanesque approaches were summarized by the late James W. Carey:
Both McLuhan and Innis assume the centrality of communication technology; where they differ is in the principal kinds of effects they see deriving from this technology. Whereas Innis sees communication technology principally affecting social organization and culture, McLuhan sees its principal effect on sensory organization and thought. McLuhan has much to say about perception and thought but little to say about institutions; Innis says much about institutions and little about perception and thought.
Biographer John Watson notes that Innis's work was profoundly political while McLuhan's was not. He writes that "the mechanization of knowledge, not the relative sensual bias of media, is the key to Innis's work. That also underlies the politicization of Innis's position vis-a-vis that of McLuhan." Watson adds that Innis believed very different media could produce similar effects. "For Innis, the yellow press of the United States and the Nazi loudspeaker had the same form of negative effect: they reduced men from thinking beings to mere automatons in a chain of command." Watson argues that while McLuhan separated media according to their sensory bias, Innis examined a different set of interrelationships, the "dialectic of power and knowledge" in specific historical circumstances. For Watson, Innis's work is therefore more flexible and less deterministic than McLuhan's.
As scholars and teachers, Innis and McLuhan shared a similar dilemma since both argued that book culture tended to produce fixed points of view and homogeneity of thought; yet both produced many books. In his introduction to the 1964 reprint of The Bias of Communication, McLuhan marvelled at Innis's technique of juxtaposing "his insights in a mosaic structure of seemingly unrelated and disproportioned sentences and aphorisms." McLuhan argued that although that made reading Innis's dense prose difficult ("a pattern of insights that are not packaged for the consumer palate"), Innis's method approximated "the natural form of conversation or dialogue rather than of written discourse." Best of all, it yielded "insight" and "pattern recognition" rather than the "classified knowledge" so overvalued by print-trained scholars. "How exciting it was to encounter a writer whose every phrase invited prolonged meditation and exploration," McLuhan added. McLuhan's own books with their reliance on aphorisms, puns, quips, "probes" and oddly juxtaposed observations also employ that mosaic technique.
Innis's theories of political economy, media and society remain highly relevant: he had a profound influence on critical media theory and communications and, in conjunction with McLuhan, offered groundbreaking Canadian perspectives on the function of communication technologies as key agents in social and historical change. Together, their works advanced a theory of history in which communication is central to social change and transformation.
Selected works
1923. A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Revised edition (1971). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. Revised edition (1956). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. Peter Pond, Fur Trader and Adventurer. Toronto: Irwin & Gordon.
1940. The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1946. Political Economy in the Modern State. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1948. The Diary of Simeon Perkins: 1766–1780. Toronto: Champlain Society. [editor]
1950. Empire and Communications. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1951. The Bias of Communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. The Strategy of Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. Changing Concepts of Time. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1956. Essays in Canadian Economic History, edited by Mary Q. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1980. The Idea File of Harold Adams Innis, edited by William Christian. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
See also
Historiography of Canada
History of communication
History of technology
Innis-Gérin Medal
Metropolitan-hinterland thesis
Monopolies of knowledge
Orality
Technological nationalism
Notes
References
Aitken, Hugh Gj. (1977) "Myth and Measurement-Innis Tradition in Economic-History." Journal of Canadian Studies 12#5 : 96-105.
Babe, Robert. (2000). "The Communication Thought of Harold Adams Innis." In Canadian Communication Thought: Ten Foundational Writers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 51–88.
Berger, Carl. (1976). "Harold Innis: The Search for Limits." In The Writing of Canadian History. Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–111.
Bonnett, John (2013). Emergence and Empire: Innis, Complexity and the Trajectory of History. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
Buxton, William J. (1998) "Harold Innis' excavation of modernity: The newspaper industry, communications, and the decline of public life." Canadian Journal of Communication 23.3 (1998).
Carey, J. W. (1992). "Space, Time and Communications: A Tribute to Harold Innis." In Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. New York: Routledge. pp. 142–72.
Creighton, Donald. (1957). Harold Adams Innis: Portrait of a Scholar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dickason, Olive; MacNab, David. (2009) Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. Fourth Edition. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Easterbrook, W.T. and Watkins, M.H. (1984) "Introduction" and "Part 1: The Staple Approach." In Approaches to Canadian Economic History. Ottawa: The Carleton Library Series. Carleton University Press.
Havelock, Eric. (1982). Harold A. Innis: a memoir (with a preface by H. Marshall McLuhan). Toronto: Harold Innis Foundation.
Heyer, Paul. (2003). Harold Innis. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hutcheson, John. (1982) "Harold Innis and the Unity and Diversity of Confederation," Journal of Canadian Studies 1#1 pp 57–73.
Innis, Mary Quayle. (1935) An Economic History of Canada. Toronto: Ryerson Press.
Kroker, Arthur. (1984). Technology and the Canadian Mind: Innis/McLuhan/Grant. Montreal: New World Perspectives.
McLuhan, Marshall. (2005) "Introduction to the Bias of Communication: [Harold A. Innis first edition 1951.]" In Marshall McLuhan Unbound. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press. v.8.
Neill, Robin. (1972). A New Theory of Value: The Canadian Economics of H.A. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Patterson, Graeme. (1990) History and Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, the Interpretation of History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Vancouver Public Library. (1999) "The Bias of Communication" and "The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History." In Great Canadian Books of the Century. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Watson, Alexander John. (2006). Marginal Man: The Dark Vision of Harold Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
External links
Innis Family, Harold Innis Foundation, and Harold Innis archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
Harold Adams Innis by Robin Neill, EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. January 10, 2005.
Harold Adams Innis: The Bias of Communications & Monopolies of Power by Dr. Marshall Soules, Malaspina University-College, 2007.
Harold Innis and the Press by Robert E. Babe., Fifth-Estate-Online – International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism.
Old Messengers, New Media: The Legacy of Innis and McLuhan, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada.
Harold Adams Innis entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Mary Quayle Innis special collection at the University of Waterloo.
Harold Innis Foundation fonds held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
1894 births
1952 deaths
20th-century Canadian historians
20th-century economists
Canadian agnostics
Canadian economists
Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian political philosophers
Communication theorists
Economic historians
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Historians of Canada
Historians of printing
Literacy and society theorists
McMaster University alumni
McMaster University faculty
North American cultural studies
People from Oxford County, Ontario
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Presidents of the American Economic Association
Theorists on Western civilization
University of Chicago alumni
University of Toronto faculty | true | [
"Joscha Remus is a German author. Remus comes from a bukovinish-Moselle Franconian family. He studied biology, German and philosophy in Trier and Berlin.\nAfter traveling abroad and then working on a medical journal, he trained in Berlin, Rome and London where he worked as a children's physiotherapist developing methods of \"motor intelligence\".\n\nIn the nineties Joscha Remus began publishing books, travel guides, and prose. It was during a training program for sound engineering at Thorolf Dormer in Berlin that he decided to create a travel audio book series. Since 2006 he has traveled extensively and written and produced several books in an Audio Travel Feature format for the Headroom publishing company in Cologne. In 2010 his series of travel audio books won the German Book Award.\n\nIn addition to his work as an author, Joscha Remus works as a science and travel journalist. In 2007 he founded the first knowledge cafe in Germany at the Stuttgart Mediothek (a part of Stuttgart City Library). Joscha Remus lives \"on travel\" with resting-points in Berlin and Istanbul (European summer)- and Australia and New Zealand (European winter).\n\nWorks \n\nBooks\n Der Lichtertanz am Mauerpark.Lesereise Berlin (A travel to Berlin). Vienna: Picus, 2013\n Gebrauchsanweisung Neuseeland. (Manual Guide to New Zealand). Munich, Piper 2012\n Der Sternenwind am Bosporus. (Starwind on Bosporus). Vienna: Picus, 2010\n Der Kuss der langen weissen Wolke. (The kiss of the long white cloud). Vienna: Picus, 2009\n Kulturschock Rumänien. (Romania Culture Shock). Bielefeld: Travel Know-how, 2006\n Der sanfte Flug der schwarzen Damen. (The Smooth Flight of the Black Ladies). Romanian Rhapsodies. Vienna: Picus, 2008\n Infonautik – Wege durch den Wissensdschungel. (Nautical Info – Paths Through the Knowledge Jungle). Offenbach: Gabal, 2005\n Rumänien und Republik Moldau. (Romania and Republic of Moldova). Bielefeld: Reise Know-How, 2010, 3rd completely updated edition\n Lëtzebuergesch. 2005, 3rd completely updated edition\n City Trip Luxemburg. Bielefeld: Travel Know-how, 2010\n City Trip Trier. Bielefeld: Travel Know-how, 2012\n\nChildren's books\n\n Berlin – Guide for Children. (English Edition) Vienna: Picus, 2009\n\nAudio Books\n\nDie Maori. Science Feature, Cologne: Headroom Sound Production, 2012\nMorocco. Cologne: Headroom Sound Production, 2008\nShanghai. Cologne: Headroom Sound Production, 2008\nIreland. Cologne: Headroom Sound Production, 2009\nSan Francisco. Cologne: Headroom Sound Production, 2009\nIstanbul. Cologne: Headroom Sound Production, 2010\n\nShort stories\n\n The transformation of Sap. In: Iwwer borders, over frontiers Sans Frontières. Luxemburg : Editions Guy Binsfeld, 2007\n\nNewspaper articles\n In the Junk Shop of the Imagination. ZEIT WISSEN, Nr. 2, 2005\n Braces are also Intelligent. ZEIT WISSEN, Nr. 2, 2005\n Stanislaw Lem. Visionary without illusions. DIE ZEIT, Nr. 31 2005\n\nAwards \n\n 2008: Prize of the Romanian Cultural Institute, Bucharest\n 2009: German Audio Book Award (Nomination)\n 2010: German Audio Book Award\n\nSources \n\nThe information found on this page is the English version of the original German language version found here.\n\nExternal links \n Literature by and about Joscha Remus in the catalog of the German National Library\n Homepage\n Knowledge Café\n Romanian Photo Album\n\n1958 births\nGerman journalists\nGerman male journalists\nPhotographers from Rhineland-Palatinate\nLiving people\nGerman male writers\nPeople from Bitburg-Prüm",
"Time Travel: A History is a book by science history writer James Gleick, published in 2016, which covers time travel, the origin of idea and of its usage in literature. The book received mostly positive reviews.\n\nSynopsis \nIn the book Gleick researches time travel, the emergence of this idea and its usage in literature, and how it shapes life of a modern person. In an interview for National Geographic Gleick said:\nAt some point during the four years I worked on this book, I also realized that, in one way or another, every time travel story is about death. Death is either explicitly there in the foreground or lurking in the background because time is a bastard, right? Time is brutal. What does time do to us? It kills us. Time travel is our way of flirting with immortality. It's the closest we’re going to come to it.\n\nReception\nThe book received mostly positive reviews. Nicola Davis of The Guardian wrote that \"Time Travel is intoxicating, but that is only in part down to Gleick's execution. Much of this is well trodden ground, our enduring fascination with the notion sown long ago by many adroit hands. At times, Gleick seems to get lost in his own, sometimes opaque, musings. Parts of the book are frustratingly repetitive, while his practice of paraphrasing obscure time travel stories before analysing their finer points too often feels like the dinner party anecdote that rather feebly concludes 'Well, you had to be there really'.\" Nick D Burton wrote for the Wired that the book \"quantum leaps from HG Wells's The Time Machine – the original – via Proust and alt-history right up to your Twitter timeline. Until we get the DeLorean working for real, fellow travellers, consider it the next best thing\". Anthony Doerr wrote for The New York Times that \"Time Travel, like all of Gleick's work, is a fascinating mash-up of philosophy, literary criticism, physics and cultural observation. It's witty (\"Regret is the time traveler's energy bar\"), pithy (\"What is time? Things change, and time is how we keep track\") and regularly manages to twist its reader's mind into those Gordian knots I so loved as a boy.\"\n\nWill Mann, reviewing the book for International Policy Digest, praised it though pointed that\nHowever, despite these praises, Gleick’s argument about the intersection between scientific discovery and art starts to dissipate towards the final third of the book. Some chapters, such as the penultimate one, entitled \"What is Time?\" less resembles a history of a subgenre within the greater science fiction canon and more resembles a heavy philosophic dissertation. Certainly, time travel is a concept that philosophers have tried to grasp and theorize about ever since its invention.\n\nDave Goldberg wrote for Nature Physics that \"As to the practical possibility of time travel, Gleick is something of a sceptic. Common sense, he argues, suggests that the past really is immutable, no matter how clever the theoretical models that imply otherwise. And despite the apparent symmetry of the microscopic laws of physics, there really is, he argues, something different about the future and the past. 'The future hasn't been written yet. When did that become controversial?'\"\n\nReferences \n\n2016 non-fiction books\nPopular science books\nWorks about time\nPantheon Books books"
]
|
[
"Harold Innis",
"\"Dirt\" research",
"What is dirt research?",
"gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called \"dirt\" experience.",
"What kind of information was he gathering?",
"archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade,",
"When did he start?",
"Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924",
"Where did he travel?",
"he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca;",
"Was his research successful?",
"I don't know.",
"How long did he travel?",
"He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada"
]
| C_8313ede8658048b1bfa342c647b62f91_1 | How did he gather research? | 7 | How did Harold Innis gather research? | Harold Innis | Harold Adams Innis was born in 1894 on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him 'Herald', hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist Church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the Church: The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville. Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled 20 miles (32 km) by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him. Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West. Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent". As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result. Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence". It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that this National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada", Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement." In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he would not only need to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade, but would also have to travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience. Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an 18-foot (5.5 m) canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay. Everywhere Innis went his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories. CANNOTANSWER | he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories. | Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 9, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition.
Innis's writings on communication explore the role of media in shaping the culture and development of civilizations. He argued, for example, that a balance between oral and written forms of communication contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization in the 5th century BC. He warned, however, that Western civilization is now imperiled by powerful, advertising-driven media obsessed by "present-mindedness" and the "continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity." His intellectual bond with Eric A. Havelock formed the foundations of the Toronto School of communication theory, which provided a source of inspiration for future members of the school: Marshall McLuhan and Edmund Snow Carpenter.
Innis laid the basis for scholarship that looked at the social sciences from a distinctly Canadian point of view. As the head of the University of Toronto's political economy department, he worked to build up a cadre of Canadian scholars so that universities would not continue to rely as heavily on British or American-trained professors unfamiliar with Canada's history and culture. He was successful in establishing sources of financing for Canadian scholarly research.
As the Cold War grew hotter after 1947, Innis grew increasingly hostile to the United States. He warned repeatedly that Canada was becoming a subservient colony to its much more powerful southern neighbor. "We are indeed fighting for our lives," he warned, pointing especially to the "pernicious influence of American advertising.... We can only survive by taking persistent action at strategic points against American imperialism in all its attractive guises." His views influenced some younger scholars, including Donald Creighton.
Innis also tried to defend universities from political and economic pressures. He believed that independent universities, as centres of critical thought, were essential to the survival of Western civilization. His intellectual disciple and university colleague, Marshall McLuhan, lamented Innis's premature death as a disastrous loss for human understanding. McLuhan wrote: "I am pleased to think of my own book The Gutenberg Galaxy as a footnote to the observations of Innis on the subject of the psychic and social consequences, first of writing then of printing."
Rural roots
Early life
Innis was born on November 5, 1894, on a small livestock and dairy farm near the community of Otterville in southwestern Ontario's Oxford County. As a boy he loved the rhythms and routines of farm life and he never forgot his rural origins. His mother, Mary Adams Innis, had named him Herald, hoping he would become a minister in the strict evangelical Baptist faith that she and her husband William shared. At the time, the Baptist church was an important part of life in rural areas. It gave isolated families a sense of community and embodied the values of individualism and independence. Its far-flung congregations were not ruled by a centralized, bureaucratic authority. Innis became an agnostic in later life, but never lost his interest in religion. According to his friend and biographer Donald Creighton, Innis's character was moulded by the church:
The strict sense of values and the feeling of devotion to a cause, which became so characteristic of him in later life, were derived, in part at least, from the instruction imparted so zealously and unquestioningly inside the severely unadorned walls of the Baptist Church at Otterville.
Innis attended the one-room schoolhouse in Otterville and the community's high school. He travelled by train to Woodstock, Ontario, to complete his secondary education at a Baptist-run college. He intended to become a public-school teacher and passed the entrance examinations for teacher training, but decided to take a year off to earn the money he would need to support himself at an Ontario teachers' college. At age 18, therefore, he returned to the one-room schoolhouse at Otterville to teach for one term until the local school board could recruit a fully qualified teacher. The experience made him realize that the life of a teacher in a small, rural school was not for him.
University studies
In October 1913, Innis started classes at McMaster University (then in Toronto). McMaster was a natural choice for him because it was a Baptist university and many students who attended Woodstock College went there. McMaster's liberal arts professors encouraged critical thinking and debate. Innis was especially influenced by , the university's one-man philosophy department. Ten Broeke posed an essay question that Innis pondered for the rest of his life: "Why do we attend to the things to which we attend?"
Before his final undergraduate year at McMaster, Innis spent a summer teaching at the Northern Star School in the frontier farming community of Landonville near Vermilion, Alberta. The experience gave him a sense of the vastness of Canada. He also learned about Western grievances over high interest rates and steep transportation costs. In his final undergraduate year, Innis focused on history and economics. He kept in mind a remark made by history lecturer W. S. Wallace that the economic interpretation of history was not the only possible one but that it went the deepest.
First World War service
After graduating from McMaster, Innis felt that his Christian principles compelled him to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent to France in the fall of 1916 to fight in the First World War. Trench warfare with its "mud and lice and rats" had a devastating effect on him.
Innis's role as an artillery signaller gave him firsthand experience of life (and death) on the front lines as he participated in the successful Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge. Signallers, or spotters, watched where each artillery shell landed, then sent back aiming corrections so that the next shells could hit their targets more accurately. On July 7, 1917, Innis received a serious shrapnel wound in his right thigh that required eight months of hospital treatment in England.
Innis's war was over. His biographer, John Watson, notes the physical wound took seven years to heal, but the psychological damage lasted a lifetime. Innis suffered recurring bouts of depression and nervous exhaustion because of his military service.
Watson also notes that the Great War influenced Innis's intellectual outlook. It strengthened his Canadian nationalism; sharpened his opinion of what he thought were the destructive effects of technology, including the communications media that were used so effectively to "sell" the war; and led him, for the first time, to doubt his Baptist faith.
Graduate studies
McMaster and Chicago
Harold Innis completed a Master of Arts degree at McMaster, graduating in April 1918. His thesis, called The Returned Soldier, "was a detailed description of the public policy measures that were necessary, not only to provide a supportive milieu to help veterans get over the effects of the war, but also to move on with national reconstruction."
Innis did his postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and was awarded his PhD, with a dissertation on the history of Canadian Pacific Railway, in August 1920. His two years at Chicago had a profound influence on his later work. His interest in economics deepened and he decided to become a professional economist. The economics faculty at Chicago questioned abstract and universalist neoclassical theories, then in vogue, arguing that general rules for economic policy should be derived from specific case studies.
Innis was influenced by the university's two eminent communications scholars, George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park. Although he did not attend any of those famous professors' classes, Innis did absorb their idea that communication involved much more than the transmission of information. James W. Carey writes that Mead and Park "characterized communication as the entire process whereby a culture is brought into existence, maintained in time, and sedimented into institutions."
While at Chicago, Innis was exposed to the ideas of Thorstein Veblen, the iconoclastic thinker who drew on his deep knowledge of philosophy and economics to write scathing critiques of contemporary thought and culture. Veblen had left Chicago years before, but his ideas were still strongly felt there. Years later, in an essay on Veblen, Innis praised him for waging war against "standardized static economics."
Innis got his first taste of university teaching at Chicago, where he delivered several introductory economics courses. One of his students was Mary Quayle, the woman he would marry in May 1921 when he was 26 and she 22. Together they had four children, Donald (1924), Mary (1927), Hugh (1930), and Anne (1933). Mary Quayle Innis was herself a notable economist and writer. Her book, An Economic History of Canada, was published in 1935. Her novel, Stand on a Rainbow appeared in 1943. Her other books include Mrs. Simcoe's Diary (1965), The Clear Spirit: Canadian Women and Their Times (1966) and Unfold the Years (1949), a history of the Young Women's Christian Association. She also edited Harold Innis's posthumous Essays in Canadian Economic History (1956) and a 1972 reissue of his Empire and Communications.
Donald Quayle Innis became a geography professor at the State University of New York, Mary married a surgeon and did graduate work in French literature, Hugh Innis became a professor at Ryerson University where he taught communications and economics, Anne Innis Dagg did doctoral work in biology and became an advisor for the independent studies program at the University of Waterloo and published books on zoology, feminism, and Canadian women's history.
History of the CPR
Harold Innis wrote his PhD thesis on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway in 1885 had been a defining moment in Canadian history. Innis's thesis, eventually published as a book in 1923, can be seen as an early attempt to document the railway's significance from an economic historian's point of view. It uses voluminous statistics to underpin its arguments. Innis maintains that the difficult and expensive construction project was sustained by fears of American annexation of the Canadian West.
Innis argues that "the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad is primarily the history of the spread of Western civilization over the northern half of the North American continent." As Robert Babe notes, the railway brought industrialization, transporting coal and building supplies to manufacturing sites. It was also a kind of communications medium that contributed to the spread of European civilization. Babe writes that, for Innis, the CPR's equipment "comprised a massive, energy-consuming, fast-moving, powerful, capital-intensive 'sign' dropped into the very midst of indigenous peoples, whose entire way of life was disrupted, and eventually shattered as a result.
Communications scholar Arthur Kroker argues that Innis's study of the Canadian Pacific Railway was only the first in which he attempted to demonstrate that "technology is not something external to Canadian being; but on the contrary, is the necessary condition and lasting consequence of Canadian existence." It also reflected Innis's lifelong interest in the exercise of economic and political power. His CPR history ends, for example, with a recounting of Western grievances against economic policies, such as high freight rates and the steep import tariffs designed to protect fledgling Canadian manufacturers. Westerners complained that the National Policy funnelled money from Prairie farmers into the pockets of the Eastern business establishment. "Western Canada," Innis wrote, "has paid for the development of Canadian nationality, and it would appear that it must continue to pay. The acquisitiveness of Eastern Canada shows little sign of abatement."
Staples thesis
Harold Innis is considered the leading founder of a Canadian school of economic thought known as the staples theory. It holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively shaped by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, wood, wheat, mined metals and fossil fuels. Innis theorized that the reliance on exporting natural resources made Canada dependent on more industrially advanced countries and resulted in periodic disruptions to economic life as the international demand for staples rose and fell; as the staple itself became increasingly scarce; and, as technological change resulted in shifts from one staple to others. Innis pointed out, for example, that as furs became scarce and trade in that staple declined, it became necessary to develop and export other staples such as wheat, potash and especially lumber. The export of the new staples was made possible through improved transportation networks that included first canals and later railways.
"Dirt" research
In 1920, Innis joined the department of political economy at the University of Toronto. He was assigned to teach courses in commerce, economic history and economic theory. He decided to focus his scholarly research on Canadian economic history, a hugely neglected subject, and he settled on the fur trade as his first area of study. Furs had brought French and English traders to Canada, motivating them to travel west along the continent's interlocking lake and river systems to the Pacific coast. Innis realized that he had to search out archival documents to understand the history of the fur trade and also travel the country himself gathering masses of firsthand information and accumulating what he called "dirt" experience.
Thus, Innis travelled extensively beginning in the summer of 1924 when he and a friend paddled an canvas-covered canoe hundreds of miles down the Peace River to Lake Athabasca; then down the Slave River to Great Slave Lake. They completed their journey down the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river, to the Arctic Ocean on a small Hudson's Bay Company tug. During his travels, Innis supplemented his fur research by gathering information on other staple products such as lumber, pulp and paper, minerals, grain and fish. He travelled so extensively that by the early 1940s, he had visited every part of Canada except for the Western Arctic and the east side of Hudson Bay.
Everywhere that Innis went, his methods were the same: he interviewed people connected with the production of staple products and listened to their stories.
Fur trade in Canada
Harold Innis's interest in the relationship between empires and colonies was developed in his classic study, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930). The book chronicles the trade in beaver fur from the early 16th century to the 1920s. Instead of focusing on the "heroic" European adventurers who explored the Canadian wilderness as conventional histories had done, Innis documents how the interplay of geography, technology and economic forces shaped both the fur trade and Canada's political and economic destiny. He argues that the fur trade largely determined Canada's boundaries, and he comes to the conclusion that the country "emerged not in spite of geography but because of it."
In line with that observation, Innis notably proposes that European settlement of the Saint Lawrence River Valley followed the economic and social patterns of indigenous peoples, making for a Canadian historical and cultural continuity that predates and postdates European settlement. Unlike many historians who see Canadian history as beginning with the arrival of Europeans, Innis emphasizes the cultural and economic contributions of First Nations peoples. "We have not yet realized," he writes, "that the Indian and his culture was fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions."
The Innisian perspective on the development of Canadian political, economic and social institutions was an early form of neo-institutionalism, which became an accepted part of the Canadian political science tradition well before American and European counterparts. The Fur Trade in Canada concludes by arguing that Canadian economic history can best be understood by examining how one staple product gave way to another—furs to timber, for example, and the later importance of wheat and minerals. Reliance on staples made Canada economically dependent on more industrially advanced countries and the "cyclonic" shifts from one staple to another caused frequent disruptions in the country's economic life.
The Fur Trade in Canada also describes the cultural interactions among three groups of people: the Europeans in fashionable metropolitan centres who regarded beaver hats as luxury items; the European colonial settlers who saw beaver fur as a staple that could be exported to pay for essential manufactured goods from the home country, and First Nations peoples who traded furs for industrial goods such as metal pots, knives, guns and liquor. Innis describes the central role First Nations peoples played in the development of the fur trade. Without their skilled hunting techniques, knowledge of the territory and advanced tools such as snowshoes, toboggans and birch-bark canoes, the fur trade would not have existed. However, dependence on European technologies disrupted First Nations societies. "The new technology with its radical innovations," Innis writes, "brought about such a rapid shift in the prevailing Indian culture as to lead to wholesale destruction of the peoples concerned by warfare and disease." Historian Carl Berger argues that by placing First Nations culture at the centre of his analysis of the fur trade, Innis "was the first to explain adequately the disintegration of native society under the thrust of European capitalism."
Cod fishery
After the publication of his book on the fur trade, Innis turned to a study of an earlier staple, the cod fished for centuries off the eastern coasts of North America, especially the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The result was The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy published in 1940, 10 years after the fur trade study. Innis tells the detailed history of competing empires in the exploitation of a teeming natural resource, a history that ranges over 500 years. While his study of the fur trade focused on the continental interior with its interlocking rivers and lakes, The Cod Fisheries looks outward at global trade and empire, showing the far-reaching effects of one staple product both on imperial centres and on marginal colonies such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England.
Communications theories
Innis's study of the effects of interconnected lakes and rivers on Canadian development and European empire sparked his interest in the complex economic and cultural relationships between transportation systems and communications. During the 1940s, Innis also began studying pulp and paper, an industry of central importance to the Canadian economy. The research provided an additional crossover point from his work on staple products to his communications studies. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis "followed pulp and paper through its subsequent stages: newspapers and journalism, books and advertising. In other words, from looking at a natural resource-based industry he turned his attention to a cultural industry in which information, and ultimately knowledge, was a commodity that circulated, had value, and empowered those who controlled it."
One of Innis's primary contributions to communications studies was to apply the dimensions of time and space to various media. He divided media into time-binding and space-binding types. Time-binding media are durable and include clay or stone tablets. Space-binding media are more ephemeral and include modern media such as radio, television, and mass circulation newspapers.
Innis examined the rise and fall of ancient empires as a way of tracing the effects of communications media. He looked at media that led to the growth of an empire; those that sustained it during its periods of success, and then, the communications changes that hastened an empire's collapse. He tried to show that media 'biases' toward time or space affected the complex interrelationships needed to sustain an empire. The interrelationships included the partnership between the knowledge (and ideas) necessary to create and maintain an empire and the power (or force) required to expand and defend it. For Innis, the interplay between knowledge and power was always a crucial factor in understanding empire.
Innis argued that a balance between the spoken word and writing contributed to the flourishing of Ancient Greece in the time of Plato. The balance between the time-biased medium of speech and the space-biased medium of writing was eventually upset, Innis argued, as the oral tradition gave way to the dominance of writing. The torch of empire then passed from Greece to Rome.
Innis's analysis of the effects of communications on the rise and fall of empires led him to warn grimly that Western civilization was now facing its own profound crisis. The development of powerful communications media such as mass-circulation newspapers had shifted the balance decisively in favour of space and power, over time, continuity and knowledge. The balance required for cultural survival had been upset by what Innis saw as "mechanized" communications media used to transmit information quickly over long distances. The new media had contributed to an obsession with "present-mindedness", wiping out concerns about past or future. Innis wrote,
The overwhelming pressure of mechanization evident in the newspaper and the magazine, has led to the creation of vast monopolies of communication. Their entrenched positions involve a continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity.
Western civilization could be saved, Innis argued, only by recovering the balance between space and time. For him, that meant reinvigorating the oral tradition within universities while freeing institutions of higher learning from political and commercial pressures. In his essay, A Plea for Time, he suggested that genuine dialogue within universities could produce the critical thinking necessary to restore the balance between power and knowledge. Then, universities could muster the courage to attack the monopolies that always imperil civilization.
Although Innis remains appreciated and respected for the grand and unique nature of his later efforts regarding communications theories, he was not without critics. Particularly, the fragmentary and mosaic writing style exemplified in Empire and Communications has been criticized as ambiguous, aggressively nonlinear, and lacking connections between levels of analysis. Biographers have suggested that the style may have been a result of Innis's illness late in his career.
Academic and public career
Influence in the 1930s
Aside from his work on The Cod Fisheries, Innis wrote extensively in the 1930s about other staple products such as minerals and wheat as well as Canada's immense economic problems in the Great Depression. During the summers of 1932 and 1933, he travelled to the West to see the effects of the Depression for himself. The next year, in an essay entitled, The Canadian Economy and the Depression, Innis outlined the plight of "a country susceptible to the slightest ground-swell of international disturbance" but beset by regional differences that made it difficult to devise effective solutions. He described a prairie economy dependent on the export of wheat but afflicted by severe drought, on the one hand, and the increased political power of Canada's growing cities, sheltered from direct reliance on the staples trade, on the other. The result was political conflict and a breakdown in federal–provincial relations. "We lack vital information on which to base prospective policies to meet this situation," Innis warned, because of "the weak position of the social sciences in Canada."
Innis's reputation as a public intellectual was growing steadily and, in 1934, Premier Angus Lewis Macdonald invited him to serve on a Royal Commission to examine Nova Scotia's economic problems. The next year, he helped establish The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. In 1936, he was appointed a full University of Toronto professor and a year later, became the head of the university's Department of Political Economy.
Innis was appointed president of the Canadian Political Science Association in 1938. His inaugural address, The Penetrative Powers of the Price System, must have baffled his listeners as he ranged over centuries of economic history jumping abruptly from one topic to the next linking monetary developments to patterns of trade and settlement. The address was an ambitious attempt to show the disruptive effects of new technologies culminating in the modern shift from an industrial system based on coal and iron to the newest sources of industrial power, electricity, oil, and steel. Innis also tried to show the commercial effects of mass circulation newspapers, made possible by expanded newsprint production, and of the new medium of radio, which "threatens to circumvent the walls imposed by tariffs and to reach across boundaries frequently denied to other media of communication." Both media, Innis argued, stimulated the demand for consumer goods and both promoted nationalism.
Innis was also a central participant in an international project that produced 25 scholarly volumes between 1936 and 1945. It was a series called The Relations of Canada and the United States overseen by James T. Shotwell, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Innis edited and wrote prefaces for the volumes contributed by Canadian scholars. His own study of the cod fisheries also appeared as part of the series. His work with Shotwell enabled Innis to gain access to Carnegie money to further Canadian academic research. As John Watson points out, "the project offered one of the few sources of research funds in rather lean times."
Politics and the Great Depression
The era of the "Dirty Thirties" with its mass unemployment, poverty and despair gave rise to new Canadian political movements. In Alberta, for example, the radio evangelist William "Bible Bill" Aberhart led his populist Social Credit party to victory in 1935. Three years earlier in Calgary, Alberta, social reformers had founded a new political party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It advocated democratic socialism and a mixed economy with public ownership of key industries. Frank Underhill, one of Innis's colleagues at the University of Toronto was a founding member of the CCF. Innis and Underhill had both been members of an earlier group at the university that declared itself "dissatisfied with the policies of the two major [political] parties in Canada" and that aimed at "forming a definite body of progressive opinion." In 1931, Innis presented a paper to the group on "Economic Conditions in Canada", but he later recoiled from participating in party politics, denouncing partisans like Underhill as "hot gospellers."
Innis maintained that scholars had no place in active politics and that they should instead devote themselves, first to research on public problems, and then to the production of knowledge based on critical thought. He saw the university, with its emphasis on dialogue, open-mindedness and skepticism, as an institution that could foster such thinking and research. "The university could provide an environment," he wrote, "as free as possible from the biases of the various institutions that form the state, so that its intellectuals could continue to seek out and explore other perspectives."
Although sympathetic to the plight of western farmers and urban, unemployed workers, Innis did not embrace socialism. Eric Havelock, a left-leaning colleague explained many years later that Innis distrusted political "solutions" imported from elsewhere, especially those based on Marxist analysis with its emphasis on class conflict. He worried, too, that as Canada's ties with Britain weakened, the country would fall under the spell of American ideas instead of developing its own based on Canada's unique circumstances. Havelock added:
He has been called the radical conservative of his day — not a bad designation of a complex mind, clear sighted, cautious, perhaps at bottom pessimistic in areas where thinkers we would label 'progressive' felt less difficulty in taking a stand; never content to select only one or two elements in a complicated equation in order to build a quick-order policy or program; far ranging enough in intellect to take in the whole sum of the factors, and comprehend their often contradictory effects.
Late career and death
In the 1940s, Harold Innis reached the height of his influence in both academic circles and Canadian society. In 1941, he helped establish the American-based Economic History Association and its Journal of Economic History. He later became the association's second president. Innis played a central role in founding two important sources for the funding of academic research: the Canadian Social Science Research Council (1940) and the Humanities Research Council of Canada (1944).
In 1944, the University of New Brunswick awarded Innis an honorary degree, as did his alma mater, McMaster University. Université Laval, the University of Manitoba and the University of Glasgow would also confer honorary degrees in 1947–48.
In 1945, Innis spent nearly a month in the Soviet Union where he had been invited to attend the 220th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the country's Academy of Sciences. Later, in his essay Reflections on Russia, he mused about the differences between the Soviet "producer" economy and the West's "consumer" ethos:
[A]n economy which emphasizes consumer's goods is characterized by communication industries largely dependent on advertising and by constant efforts to reach the largest number of readers or listeners; an economy emphasizing producer's goods is characterized by communications industries largely dependent on government support. As a result of this contrast, a common public opinion in Russia and the West is hard to achieve.
Innis's trip to Moscow and Leningrad came shortly before US–Soviet rivalry led to the hostility of the Cold War. Innis lamented the rise in international tensions. He saw the Soviet Union as a stabilizing counterbalance to the American emphasis on commercialism, the individual and constant change. For Innis, Russia was a society within the Western tradition, not an alien civilization. He abhorred the nuclear arms race and saw it as the triumph of force over knowledge, a modern form of the medieval Inquisition. "The Middle Ages burned its heretics," he wrote, "and the modern age threatens them with atom bombs."
In 1946, Innis was elected president of the Royal Society of Canada, the country's senior body of scientists and scholars. The same year, he served on the Manitoba Royal Commission on Adult Education and published Political Economy in the Modern State, a collection of his speeches and essays that reflected both his staples research and his new work in communications. In 1947, Innis was appointed the University of Toronto's dean of graduate studies. In 1948, he delivered lectures at the University of London and Nottingham University. He also gave the prestigious Beit lectures at Oxford, later published in his book Empire and Communications. In 1949, Innis was appointed as a commissioner on the federal government's Royal Commission on Transportation, a position that involved extensive travel at a time when his health was starting to fail. The last decade of his career, during which he worked on his communications studies, was an unhappy time for Innis. He was academically isolated because his colleagues in economics could not fathom how the new work related to his pioneering research in staples theory. Biographer John Watson writes that "the almost complete lack of positive response to the communications works, contributed to his sense of overwork and depression."
Innis died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1952, a few days after his 58th birthday. In commemoration, Innis College at the University of Toronto and Innis Library at McMaster University were named in his honour.
Following his premature death, Innis' significance increasingly deepened as scholars in several academic disciplines continued to build upon his writings. Marshall Poe's general media theory that proposes two sub-theories were inspired by Innis. Douglas C. North expanded on Innis' "vent for surplus" theory of economic development by applying it to regional development in the United States and underdeveloped countries. In addition, James W. Carey adopted Innis as a "reference point in his conception of two models of communication."
Innis and McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan was a colleague of Innis's at the University of Toronto. As a young English professor, McLuhan was flattered when he learned that Innis had put his book The Mechanical Bride on the reading list of the fourth-year economics course. McLuhan built on Innis's idea that in studying the effects of communications media, technological form mattered more than content. Biographer Paul Heyer writes that Innis's concept of the "bias" of a particular medium of communication can be seen as a "less flamboyant precursor to McLuhan's legendary phrase 'the medium is the message.'" Innis, for example, tried to show how printed media such as books or newspapers were "biased" toward control over space and secular power, while engraved media such as stone or clay tablets were "biased" in favour of continuity in time and metaphysical or religious knowledge. McLuhan focused on what may be called a medium's "sensory bias" arguing, for example, that books and newspapers appealed to the rationality of the eye, while radio played to the irrationality of the ear. The differences in the Innisian and McLuhanesque approaches were summarized by the late James W. Carey:
Both McLuhan and Innis assume the centrality of communication technology; where they differ is in the principal kinds of effects they see deriving from this technology. Whereas Innis sees communication technology principally affecting social organization and culture, McLuhan sees its principal effect on sensory organization and thought. McLuhan has much to say about perception and thought but little to say about institutions; Innis says much about institutions and little about perception and thought.
Biographer John Watson notes that Innis's work was profoundly political while McLuhan's was not. He writes that "the mechanization of knowledge, not the relative sensual bias of media, is the key to Innis's work. That also underlies the politicization of Innis's position vis-a-vis that of McLuhan." Watson adds that Innis believed very different media could produce similar effects. "For Innis, the yellow press of the United States and the Nazi loudspeaker had the same form of negative effect: they reduced men from thinking beings to mere automatons in a chain of command." Watson argues that while McLuhan separated media according to their sensory bias, Innis examined a different set of interrelationships, the "dialectic of power and knowledge" in specific historical circumstances. For Watson, Innis's work is therefore more flexible and less deterministic than McLuhan's.
As scholars and teachers, Innis and McLuhan shared a similar dilemma since both argued that book culture tended to produce fixed points of view and homogeneity of thought; yet both produced many books. In his introduction to the 1964 reprint of The Bias of Communication, McLuhan marvelled at Innis's technique of juxtaposing "his insights in a mosaic structure of seemingly unrelated and disproportioned sentences and aphorisms." McLuhan argued that although that made reading Innis's dense prose difficult ("a pattern of insights that are not packaged for the consumer palate"), Innis's method approximated "the natural form of conversation or dialogue rather than of written discourse." Best of all, it yielded "insight" and "pattern recognition" rather than the "classified knowledge" so overvalued by print-trained scholars. "How exciting it was to encounter a writer whose every phrase invited prolonged meditation and exploration," McLuhan added. McLuhan's own books with their reliance on aphorisms, puns, quips, "probes" and oddly juxtaposed observations also employ that mosaic technique.
Innis's theories of political economy, media and society remain highly relevant: he had a profound influence on critical media theory and communications and, in conjunction with McLuhan, offered groundbreaking Canadian perspectives on the function of communication technologies as key agents in social and historical change. Together, their works advanced a theory of history in which communication is central to social change and transformation.
Selected works
1923. A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Revised edition (1971). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. Revised edition (1956). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1930. Peter Pond, Fur Trader and Adventurer. Toronto: Irwin & Gordon.
1940. The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1946. Political Economy in the Modern State. Toronto: The Ryerson Press
1948. The Diary of Simeon Perkins: 1766–1780. Toronto: Champlain Society. [editor]
1950. Empire and Communications. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1951. The Bias of Communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. The Strategy of Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1952. Changing Concepts of Time. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1956. Essays in Canadian Economic History, edited by Mary Q. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
1980. The Idea File of Harold Adams Innis, edited by William Christian. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
See also
Historiography of Canada
History of communication
History of technology
Innis-Gérin Medal
Metropolitan-hinterland thesis
Monopolies of knowledge
Orality
Technological nationalism
Notes
References
Aitken, Hugh Gj. (1977) "Myth and Measurement-Innis Tradition in Economic-History." Journal of Canadian Studies 12#5 : 96-105.
Babe, Robert. (2000). "The Communication Thought of Harold Adams Innis." In Canadian Communication Thought: Ten Foundational Writers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 51–88.
Berger, Carl. (1976). "Harold Innis: The Search for Limits." In The Writing of Canadian History. Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–111.
Bonnett, John (2013). Emergence and Empire: Innis, Complexity and the Trajectory of History. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
Buxton, William J. (1998) "Harold Innis' excavation of modernity: The newspaper industry, communications, and the decline of public life." Canadian Journal of Communication 23.3 (1998).
Carey, J. W. (1992). "Space, Time and Communications: A Tribute to Harold Innis." In Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. New York: Routledge. pp. 142–72.
Creighton, Donald. (1957). Harold Adams Innis: Portrait of a Scholar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dickason, Olive; MacNab, David. (2009) Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. Fourth Edition. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Easterbrook, W.T. and Watkins, M.H. (1984) "Introduction" and "Part 1: The Staple Approach." In Approaches to Canadian Economic History. Ottawa: The Carleton Library Series. Carleton University Press.
Havelock, Eric. (1982). Harold A. Innis: a memoir (with a preface by H. Marshall McLuhan). Toronto: Harold Innis Foundation.
Heyer, Paul. (2003). Harold Innis. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hutcheson, John. (1982) "Harold Innis and the Unity and Diversity of Confederation," Journal of Canadian Studies 1#1 pp 57–73.
Innis, Mary Quayle. (1935) An Economic History of Canada. Toronto: Ryerson Press.
Kroker, Arthur. (1984). Technology and the Canadian Mind: Innis/McLuhan/Grant. Montreal: New World Perspectives.
McLuhan, Marshall. (2005) "Introduction to the Bias of Communication: [Harold A. Innis first edition 1951.]" In Marshall McLuhan Unbound. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press. v.8.
Neill, Robin. (1972). A New Theory of Value: The Canadian Economics of H.A. Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Patterson, Graeme. (1990) History and Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, the Interpretation of History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Vancouver Public Library. (1999) "The Bias of Communication" and "The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History." In Great Canadian Books of the Century. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Watson, Alexander John. (2006). Marginal Man: The Dark Vision of Harold Innis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
External links
Innis Family, Harold Innis Foundation, and Harold Innis archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
Harold Adams Innis by Robin Neill, EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. January 10, 2005.
Harold Adams Innis: The Bias of Communications & Monopolies of Power by Dr. Marshall Soules, Malaspina University-College, 2007.
Harold Innis and the Press by Robert E. Babe., Fifth-Estate-Online – International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism.
Old Messengers, New Media: The Legacy of Innis and McLuhan, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada.
Harold Adams Innis entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Mary Quayle Innis special collection at the University of Waterloo.
Harold Innis Foundation fonds held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
1894 births
1952 deaths
20th-century Canadian historians
20th-century economists
Canadian agnostics
Canadian economists
Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian political philosophers
Communication theorists
Economic historians
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Historians of Canada
Historians of printing
Literacy and society theorists
McMaster University alumni
McMaster University faculty
North American cultural studies
People from Oxford County, Ontario
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Presidents of the American Economic Association
Theorists on Western civilization
University of Chicago alumni
University of Toronto faculty | true | [
"The situation, task, action, result (STAR) format is a technique used by interviewers to gather all the relevant information about a specific capability that the job requires. \n\n Situation: The interviewer wants you to present a recent challenging situation in which you found yourself.\n Task: What were you required to achieve? The interviewer will be looking to see what you were trying to achieve from the situation. Some performance development methods use “Target” rather than “Task”. Job interview candidates who describe a “Target” they set themselves instead of an externally imposed “Task” emphasize their own intrinsic motivation to perform and to develop their performance.\n Action: What did you do? The interviewer will be looking for information on what you did, why you did it and what the alternatives were.\n Results: What was the outcome of your actions? What did you achieve through your actions? Did you meet your objectives? What did you learn from this experience? Have you used this learning since?\n\nThe STAR technique is similar to the SOARA technique.\n\nThe STAR technique is also often complemented with an additional R on the end STARR or STAR(R) with the last R resembling reflection. This R aims to gather insight and interviewee's ability to learn and iterate. Whereas the STAR reveals how and what kind of result on an objective was achieved, the STARR with the additional R helps the interviewer to understand what the interviewee learned from the experience and how they would assimilate experiences. The interviewee can define what they would do (differently, the same, or better) next time being posed with a situation.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nThe ‘STAR’ technique to answer behavioral interview questions\nThe STAR method explained\n\nJob interview",
"For the purpose of better understanding attitudinal targeting, it can be discussed using the 5 Ws and one H: who, what, when, where, why, and how. David Grossman, author of the article \"How To Communicate Better with The 5 Ws and an H\", stated this is the essential foundation in understanding the full context of a topic and making it relevant to the audience.\n\nDescription\nAttitudinal targeting is a type of market segmentation that layers objective research findings, typically from surveys or focus groups, into other targeting segmentation criteria. Attitudinal research typically gather qualitative methods to better understand consumer's feelings and thoughts. Researchers gather data in forms such as quotations and anecdotes to try to directly identify how to position themselves better to the consumers they wish to target (Travis, 2017).\n\nProcess\nSpecific goals and objectives are created when conducting attitudinal research. Attitudinal research is focused on obtaining a group of consumers' feelings, predispositions, and motivations. The ultimate goal is to take a broad target audience and narrow the market into particular subsets such as consumers or businesses that share similar interests, needs etc. The objectives can be narrowed down to segmentations such as: geographic, demographic, behavioral, psychographic, cultural, etc. (Guy, 2016). Using the identified segmentation, the results allow marketers and advertisers to build custom audience profiles based on the unique characteristics of the audience surveyed.\n\nPeople involved\nBrand advertisers and brand marketers use the data collected from attitudinal marketing to target a richly defined audience. Bryan Gernert, CEO of Resonate said, \"Advertisers and brand marketers spend a significant amount of time and money researching and developing their target audiences and identifying the best message to connect on a deeper level to drive brand and product loyalty, but when they try to apply this deep knowledge online they are forced to dilute their strategy to fit the limitations of demographic and purchase behavior targeting.\" However, consumers make decisions based on attitude more than they do behavior. Many decisions consumers make are made based upon their attitudes, values, and beliefs therefore, making attitudinal targeting a more successful method in identifying consumers' wants and needs (Resonate, 2010).\n\nLocation and timing of research\nOnce researchers have identified an attitudinal segment they can then engage in conducting and analyzing focus groups, social media trends, app campaigns, and databases to find what that select group takes a liking to. In the past many marketing assumptions have been made for targeting consumers, and attitudinal research is a great way to check accuracy. An example is match.com who did a campaign in hopes to find out the true attitudes that single individuals hold in order to better market their site. It has been assumed by marketers that many singles are worried about the opinions of others and are very conscious of their image. However, after match.com selected occupation as a segmentation that they would closely research, they then narrowed it down to single individuals using dating sites. After conducting surveys, to their surprise they uncovered that single individuals actually are far less likely to be concerned with others opinions compared to those who are in a relationship (Resonate, 2010). Attitudinal research can take place anywhere as long as the researcher is specific and has an accurate way to measure results.\n\nAdvantages\nAttitudinal research allows marketers to place a high value on their audiences' opinions and how they feel about topics and concerns that they may have. Insights can be gathers to find out what motivates consumers by directly hearing from the consumer themselves versus a practitioner trying to predict how they may feel or react (Travis, 2017). By conducting this research researchers can also more easily uncover potential problems and feelings towards a particular idea or product.\n\nSources\n Buttry, S. The 5 W's (and How) are even more important to business than to journalism. (2011, December 21). Retrieved April 9, 2017, from https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/the-5-w%E2%80%99s-and-how-are-even-more-important-to-business-than-to-journalism/\n Guy, D. (2016). Storylift Blog. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from http://blog.storylift.com/what-is-attitudinal-targeting\n Grossman, D. (n.d.). How To Communicate Better with The 5 Ws and an H. Retrieved April 9, 2017, from http://www.yourthoughtpartner.com/blog/bid/53902/the-5-ws-and-an-h-to-communicate-virtually-anything\n Resonate. (2010). Attitudinal Targeting Is up to Four Times More Effective Than Demographic Targeting. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/attitudinal-targeting-is-up-to-four-times-more-effective-than-demographic-targeting-1167677.htm\n Travis, E. (2017, April 7). The User Research Dream Team: Attitudinal vs. Behavioural Techniques. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://www.prwd.co.uk/blog/user-research-dream-team-attitudinal-vs-behavioural-techniques/\n University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Web Developer Network. (n.d.). Remember the 5 W's. Retrieved April 9, 2017, from http://its.unl.edu/bestpractices/remember-5-ws\n\nMarket segmentation"
]
|
[
"Junior Seau",
"San Diego Chargers"
]
| C_3f0c8a40beef40daac998e1289ab7fe9_1 | When did Sanu play with the Chargers? | 1 | When did Junior Sanu play with the San Diego Chargers? | Junior Seau | After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon. Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. He was also voted NFL's Defensive MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year. He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. That year, Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury. CANNOTANSWER | Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers | Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Known for his passionate play, he was a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Originally from Oceanside, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans. He was chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft. Seau started for 13 seasons for the Chargers and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame and had his number 55 retired.
Seau died by suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at the age of 43. Later studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that has also been found in other deceased former NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma, and can lead to conditions like dementia, rage, and depression.
Early years
Seau was born on January 19, 1969 in Oceanside, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Seau Sr. and Luisa Mauga Seau of Aunu'u, American Samoa. Tiaina Sr.'s grandfather was a village chief in Pago Pago. Tiaina Sr. worked at a rubber factory and was a school custodian, and Luisa worked at the commissary of Camp Pendleton in Southern California and a laundromat. After Seau was born, the family moved back to American Samoa for several years before returning to San Diego; Seau did not learn to speak English until he was seven years old. At home, Seau and his three brothers had to sleep in the family's one-car garage.
Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League offensive MVP and led the 18-member Oceanside Pirates team to the San Diego 2A championship. Parade selected Seau to its high school All-American team.
In basketball, as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year. He helped his team win the 1987 Lt. James Mitchell Tournament and make third place in the Mt. Carmel Invitational. In track and field, he was the Avocado League champion in the shot put. Seau was also named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.
College career
After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC). He had to sit out his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.
Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.
He lettered in his final two seasons with the Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.
Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. In 1992, he was awarded the George Halas Trophy by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the NFL's top defensive player, AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year.
He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl due to an ankle injury.
Miami Dolphins
On April 16, 2003, Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft choice. He started 15 games that season for the 9–7 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players. However, in 2004, a torn pectoral muscle limited Seau to eight games, 68 tackles, and one sack. He started five of the first seven games he played in with the Dolphins in 2005, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 with an achilles tendon injury. On March 6, 2006, Seau was released by the Dolphins.
New England Patriots
Seau announced his retirement at an emotional press conference on August 14, 2006. He called it his "graduation" because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life.
Seau returned to football just four days later, signing with the New England Patriots. He started 10 of the first 11 games for the Patriots, recording 69 tackles before breaking his right arm while making a tackle in a game against the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27.
On May 21, 2007, Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season. In September 2007, Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains. He was a prominent contributor to the Patriots undefeated regular season that year. He started four of the 16 games he played in for the Patriots in 2007, and then started the Patriots' two playoff games before Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. New England's undefeated streak ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
After the Patriots had a number of injuries late in the 2008 season, they re-signed Seau. He started two of four games he played. On December 22, 2008, a fan was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery for tackling Seau as he stood on the New England sideline during a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Seau stated that he did not feel threatened by the fan; he thought that the fan was happy and excited and got carried away.
On October 7, 2009, NFL Network reported that the New England Patriots had an "agreement in principle" with Seau for a fourth one-year deal; Seau took physicals and worked out with the team. He officially signed on October 13. He was active for 7 games for the Patriots in 2009, recording 14 tackles as a reserve linebacker.
Retirement
Seau announced his intention to retire permanently on the television program Inside the NFL on January 13, 2010.
NFL career statistics
Beyond football
His restaurant at Westfield Mission Valley in Mission Valley, California—Seau's The Restaurant, which opened in 1996—was his most successful business venture. Seau also had a clothing line, Say Ow Gear. The restaurant was closed May 16, 2012, just two weeks after his death; the trustees of his estate explained that "Without Seau's charismatic leadership, it was felt that the future profitability of the restaurant could be in question."
Sports Jobs with Junior Seau premiered on December 2, 2009, on Versus. The show followed Seau as he did the jobs that make sports work. Ten episodes aired through January 27, 2010.
Seau was actively involved with community work through Samoan "sister city" projects within San Diego County.
Junior Seau Foundation
In 1992, Seau created the Junior Seau Foundation with the mission to educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, recreational opportunities, anti-juvenile delinquency efforts and complementary educational programs.
The 20th Anniversary Junior Seau Celebrity Golf Classic was held March 10–12, 2012, at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
The Foundation gives out an annual award to the individual who exemplifies the mission statement of the Junior Seau Foundation.
2000 — Legend of the Year — Sid Brooks
2001 — Legend of the Year — Lance Alworth
2002 — Legend of the Year — Sid Gillman
2003 — Legend of the Year — Don Coryell
2004 — Legend of the Year — Marcus Allen
2005 — Legend of the Year — Deacon Jones
2006 — Legend of the Year — Bobby Ross
2007 — Legend of the Year — Warren Moon
2008 — Legend of the Year — Marshall Faulk
2009 — Legend of the Year — Charlie Joiner
2010 — Legend of the Year — John Lynch
2011 — Legend of the Year — Bill Walton
Personal life
In 1989, Seau's oldest son, Tyler, was born to Seau's high school sweetheart, Melissa Waldrop. Seau broke up with Waldrop when Tyler was 13 months old. He married Gina Deboer in 1991. The couple had three children together, a daughter and two sons, before divorcing in 2002. Seau's son Jake attended Duke University where he played lacrosse. In 2019, Jake signed with the Dallas Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Seau sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff in Carlsbad, California only hours after he was arrested for domestic violence following an incident reported to the police by his girlfriend at their home in nearby Oceanside. Seau stated that he fell asleep at the wheel, and was never charged in the domestic incident.
Seau's nephew, Ian Seau, committed to play at Nevada, and became an undrafted free-agent for Los Angeles Rams in 2016 as a defensive end. Then in 2017, Ian signed with the Bills. Another nephew, Micah Seau, committed to play for San Diego State. His cousin was Pulu Poumele.
Death
On May 2, 2012, Seau's girlfriend found him dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Oceanside. He left no suicide note, but did leave a piece of paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't". The song, co-written by his friend Jamie Paulin, describes a man who regrets the person he has become.
Seau's death recalled the 2011 suicide of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain be studied for brain trauma. Seau had no prior reported history of concussions, but his ex-wife said he did sustain concussions during his career. "He always bounced back and kept on playing," Gina Seau said. "He's a warrior. That didn't stop him." Seau had insomnia for at least the last seven years of his life, and he was taking zolpidem (Ambien), a prescription drug commonly prescribed for sleep disorders.
Seau's autopsy report released later in August 2012 by the San Diego County medical examiner indicated that his body contained no illegal drugs or alcohol, but did show traces of zolpidem. No apparent signs of brain damage were found, nor was he determined to have exhibited mood changes and irritability often apparent with concussions and brain damage.
There was speculation that Seau suffered brain damage due to CTE, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom, as dozens of deceased former NFL players were found to have suffered from CTE. Seau's family donated his brain tissue to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH; other candidates included the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Brain Injury Research Institute. Citing the Seau family's right to privacy, NIH did not intend to release the findings.
On January 10, 2013, Seau's family released the NIH's findings that his brain showed definitive signs of CTE. Russell Lonser of the NIH coordinated with three independent neuropathologists, giving them unidentified tissue from three brains including Seau's. The three experts along with two government researchers arrived at the same conclusion. The NIH said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
On January 23, 2013, the Seau family sued the NFL over the brain injuries suffered by Seau over his career. In 2014, his family continued to pursue the lawsuit while opting out of the NFL concussion lawsuit's proposed settlement, which was initially funded with $765 million. The family reached a confidential settlement with the league in 2018. The Seaus' attorney said that they were "pleased" with the resolution.
Legacy
Seau was known for his passionate playing style, including a fist-pumping dance he performed after big plays. Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News said Seau "probably was the most dynamic player of his era". NFL head coach Norv Turner, who coached Seau as well as faced him as an opponent, said, "The No. 1 thing about Junior was that he was such an explosive player he'd defeat one-on-one blocks and he was a great tackler."
Seau's quickness allowed him to freelance, which sometimes put him out of position. "People say he gambled a bit, but in reality, his insight led him to the ball ... Even when he was wrong, you had to account for him and that created problems for offensive coordinators. You'd better have somebody blocking him," said former NFL coach Tom Bass.
He was praised by teammates for his work ethic and leadership. He would play when hurt, and often refused to leave games. "He played the game the way it was meant to be played," said retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Bill Belichick, his coach at New England, praised Seau's leadership and willingness to accept any role.
He was named to the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams, which honor the top players and coaches in the team's history. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame on November 27, 2011, as part of Alumni Day ceremonies at a sold-out game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Fellow Chargers Hall of Famer Dan Fouts introduced Seau before a crowd of nearly 71,000.
Chargers President Dean Spanos honored Seau after his death as "...An icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn't just a football player, he was so much more." The Chargers retired his No. 55 during his public memorial. The Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre and Junior Seau Beach Community Center were renamed posthumously in his honor by the city of Oceanside in July 2012.
On September 1, 2012, during the University of Southern California's home opener, Seau was honored by the team. On September 16, 2012, the Chargers retired Seau's number 55 during a ceremony at the 2012 regular season home opener against the Tennessee Titans. The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted Seau into the Breitbard Hall of Fame on February 25, 2013, forgoing their normal two-year waiting period after an athlete's retirement or death.
Seau became eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. His eligibility was not accelerated due to his death from the standard five-year waiting period after a player's retirement. On January 31, 2015, Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he were ever to be inducted. However, the Hall of Fame cited a five-year policy of not allowing speeches for deceased inductees, denying Sydney the opportunity to introduce her father.
Instead, she was allowed to speak onstage for three minutes uninterrupted on the NFL Network, and delivered a pared down version of her full speech, which The New York Times published. Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
On September 21, 2018, ESPN released Seau, a 30 for 30 documentary that highlighted Seau's career, as well as the effects of his injuries on his life, his family, and his post-football endeavors.
See also
List of suicides
List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
References
External links
Seau Foundation
1969 births
2012 deaths
2012 suicides
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football linebackers
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American people of Samoan descent
American philanthropists
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Burials in California
Deaths by firearm in California
Miami Dolphins players
National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
New England Patriots players
Players of American football from California
Players of American football from San Diego
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
San Diego Chargers players
Sportspeople from Oceanside, California
Sportspeople from San Diego
Suicides by firearm in California
USC Trojans football players | true | [
"Mohamed Sanu Sr. (born August 22, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rutgers and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Sanu has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, and Detroit Lions.\n\nEarly life\nOriginally from Sayreville, New Jersey, Sanu was born to a Muslim family and also lived in his parents' native Sierra Leone as a child. Sanu returned to the United States and lived in Dayton, New Jersey, where he eventually starred at South Brunswick High School as a triple option quarterback before enrolling at Rutgers University in 2009. In his final season at South Brunswick High School, Sanu led the Vikings to their first playoff berth in nearly 40 years, including three rushing touchdowns of at least 80 yards against Edison High School.\n\nHe was ruled ineligible to play during his senior year, due to exceeding NJSIAA's age restriction; he graduated from high school six months early and enrolled at Rutgers University in January 2009.\nIn track & field, Sanu was one of the state's top performers in the jumping events. At the 2008 NJSIAA Sectional Championships, he placed 2nd in the triple jump (14.08 m) and 3rd in the long jump (6.43 meters). He also competed as a sprinter, recording personal-best times of 6.94 seconds in the 55 metres and 24.28 seconds in the 200 meters at the 2008 Merli Invitational. He is a fan of soccer, and supports West Ham United.\n\nCollege career\nAs a true freshman wide receiver Sanu had 51 receptions for 639 yards and three touchdowns; he also ran 62 times for 346 yards and five touchdowns out of the Wildcat formation. Sanu was the first-ever true freshman to start at wide receiver for Rutgers under coach Greg Schiano, and won Most Valuable Player honors at the 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl. In 2010, Sanu was a consensus preseason All-Big East wide receiver. In 2011 he tied a Big East record with 13 receptions against North Carolina. The next week, he broke his own record by catching 16 passes. In 2011, Sanu broke the Big East single-season reception record with 115 receptions for 1,206 yards, a record previously held by Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald.\n\nIn his three seasons at Rutgers, Sanu caught 210 passes for 2,263 yards and 19 touchdowns, and gained 3,019 all-purpose yards. He also completed eight of 18 passes for 207 yards and four touchdowns, recorded an interception and punted twice for 67 yards.\n\nStatistics\n\nProfessional career\n\nCincinnati Bengals\nThe Cincinnati Bengals selected Sanu in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft, the 12th wide receiver taken in 2012. He signed a four-year, $2.71 million contract with them that included a signing bonus of $563,252.\n\n2012 season: Rookie year\n\nOn September 23, 2012, against the Washington Redskins, Sanu came in as the wildcat quarterback out of a shotgun formation for the Bengals on the first play from scrimmage of the game and threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to A. J. Green. This not only made him the first Bengals wide receiver ever to throw a touchdown pass, but it also gave him a touchdown pass before his first NFL reception.\n\nSanu had his first touchdown catch during Week 10 against the New York Giants. He finished the game with four receptions for 47 yards. During Week 12 against the Oakland Raiders, Sanu had five receptions for 29 yards and two touchdowns in the 34–10 victory for his first NFL game with multiple touchdowns. On November 30, 2012, it was announced that Sanu had season-ending surgery to repair a stress fracture.\n\n2013 season\nSanu played in all 16 games of the 2013 NFL season, finishing with 47 receptions for 455 yards and two touchdowns.\n\nThe Bengals finished atop the AFC North with an 11–5 record. In the Wild Card Round against the San Diego Chargers, his playoff debut, Sanu had a 13-yard reception in a 27–10 loss.\n\n2014 season\nIn the 2014 season, Sanu played a much bigger role in the Bengals offense due to injuries to receivers A. J. Green and Marvin Jones. Sanu recorded two 100-yard games in 2014. During Week 2, he recorded a career-long 76-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Andy Dalton in the 24–10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. In the next game against the Tennessee Titans, Sanu threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Dalton in the 33–7 victory.\n\nIt was Sanu's fourth completion of his career on four passing attempts and the second touchdown pass of his career. In Week 6 he had a career-high 10 receptions against the Carolina Panthers, for 120 yards and a touchdown in a 37–37 tie. During Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens, he had five receptions for a career-high 125 yards in the 27–24 victory.\n\nThe Bengals returned to the playoffs with a 10–5–1 record. In the Wild Card Round against the Indianapolis Colts, he had three receptions for 31 receiving yards on seven targets in the 26–10 loss.\n\n2015 season\nIn the 2015 season, Sanu had 33 receptions for 394 yards. In Week 9 he scored his first NFL rushing touchdown on a 25-yard reverse against the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals finished with a 12–4 record and finished atop the AFC North. In the Wild Card Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had three receptions for 17 receiving yards in the 18–16 loss.\n\nAtlanta Falcons\nOn March 10, 2016, Sanu signed a five-year, $32.5 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons.\n\n2016 season\nIn his Falcons debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sanu had five receptions for 80 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion in the 31–24 loss. He finished the regular season with 59 receptions for 653 yards and four touchdowns.\n\nThe Falcons finished atop the NFC South and reached the playoffs with an 11–5 record. In the Divisional Round against the Seattle Seahawks he had four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown in the 36–20 victory. In the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers he finished with five receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown in the final NFL Game in the Georgia Dome. The Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, playing against the New England Patriots. Sanu had two receptions for 25 yards in the 34–28 overtime defeat.\n\n2017 season\nDuring Week 2, Sanu had a season-high 85 receiving yards in a 34–23 victory over the Green Bay Packers. During Week 12, Sanu threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Julio Jones in a 34–20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sanu finished the 2017 season with 67 receptions for 703 yards and five touchdowns. The Falcons posted a 10–6 record and qualified for the playoffs. In the Wild Card Round against the Los Angeles Rams he had four receptions for 75 yards in a 26–13 victory. In the Divisional Round he had three receptions for 50 yards in a 15–10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia Eagles.\n\n2018 season\n\nAfter a relatively slow start to the 2018 season, Sanu had six receptions for 111 yards in a narrow Week 4 37–36 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. During the regular-season finale, Sanu threw a five-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Matt Ryan in a 34-32 road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the fourth of Sanu's career.\n\nSanu finished the 2018 season with a 66 receptions for a career-high 838 yards and four touchdowns.\n\n2019 season \nDuring a Week 4 24-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Sanu had nine receptions for a season-high 91 yards. In the next game against the Houston Texans, Sanu had five receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown in the 53-32 road loss.\n\nSanu had 33 receptions, 313 receiving yards, and a touchdown with the Falcons before being traded to the New England Patriots.\n\nNew England Patriots\nOn October 22, 2019, Sanu was traded to the New England Patriots in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.\n\nIn his Patriots debut, against the Cleveland Browns, Sanu had two receptions on two targets for 23 yards. In Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens, Sanu had a season-high 10 receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown in the 37–20 loss. In the Wild Card Round against the Titans, he had an 11-yard reception in the 20–13 loss. Sanu had 26 receptions, 207 receiving yards, and a touchdown in his first season with the Patriots.\n\nSanu was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp on August 2, 2020, and was activated from the list two days later. On September 3, Sanu was released by the Patriots.\n\nSan Francisco 49ers\nOn September 18, 2020, Sanu signed with the San Francisco 49ers. He was released on October 6, 2020.\n\nDetroit Lions\nOn November 6, 2020, Sanu was signed to the Detroit Lions practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 21 for the team's Week 11 game against the Carolina Panthers, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. Sanu was promoted to the active roster on November 25, 2020.\n\nSan Francisco 49ers (second stint)\nOn March 30, 2021, Sanu re-signed with the 49ers. He played in eight games before being placed on injured reserve on November 15. He was activated on January 26, 2022.\n\nNFL career statistics\n\nPersonal life\nIn 2014, Sanu partnered a venture with Fantex, Inc., in which Fantex offered an IPO of tracking stock based upon Sanu's future earnings in return for giving Fantex a 10% share of future earnings from his brand. The offering was completed in November 2014, in which 164,300 shares were sold at $10 per share.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n New England Patriots bio\n\n1989 births\nLiving people\nAfrican-American Muslims\nAmerican football wide receivers\nAmerican people of Sierra Leonean descent\nAtlanta Falcons players\nCincinnati Bengals players\nDetroit Lions players\nNew England Patriots players\nPeople from Sayreville, New Jersey\nPeople from South Brunswick, New Jersey\nPlayers of American football from New Jersey\nRutgers Scarlet Knights football players\nSan Francisco 49ers players\nSierra Leonean Muslims\nSouth Brunswick High School (New Jersey) alumni\nSportspeople from Middlesex County, New Jersey",
"The Sudan African National Union (Juba Arabic: اتحاد الوطنى الافريقى السودان Ettihad Al-Wataniy Al-Afriqiy Al-Sudan; SANU) is a political party formed in 1963 by Saturnino Ohure and William Deng Nhial in Uganda. In the late 1960s, the party contested elections in Sudan seeking autonomy for South Sudan within a federal structure. The exile branch of the party meanwhile supported full independence. A party with this name was represented in the Southern Sudan legislature in 2008.\n\nOrigins\n\nSome time after the army took power in 1958, William Deng fled into exile, as did other southern politicians including Fr. Saturnino Ohure, Joseph Oduho and Alexis Bakumba.\nSaturnino Ohure and Joseph Oduho moved from Uganda to Kinshasa, Zaire, where they were joined by William Deng and founded the Sudan African Closed Districts National Union (SACDNU) in 1962.\nThe exiles moved back to Kampala in Uganda in 1963 and shortened the movement's name to Sudan African National Union (SANU).\nJoseph Oduho was the first president of SANU (1962-1964).\nThe new name was designed to show solidarity with other African nationalist movements of the period.\n\nParty in exile\n\nIn Kampala, SANU became the voice of the 60,000 refugees who had fled to camps in Zaire and Uganda, but was unable to establish a political presence in Sudan.\nThe SANU leaders did manage to organize a loose guerrilla movement, the Anyanya, which began operating in Equatoria in 1963, conducting isolated raids and largely remaining independent of the politicians in Kampala.\n\nAttempt at democracy\n\nIn February 1965 William Deng split with the exiled SANU leaders and returned to Sudan, causing a split into SANU-inside and SANU-outside wings, with Deng leading the \"inside\" wing and Aggrey Jadein leading the \"outside\" wing.\nSANU was formally registered as a political party in Sudan at a rally in Omdurman on 11 April 1965 attended by about 2,000 southerners. \nDeng's wing of SANU and the Southern Front, a mass organization led by Stanislaus Paysama, contested the April 1965 parliamentary elections. SANU was an active force in Sudanese politics for the next four years, advocating southern autonomy within a federal structure.\nIn the 1968 election, William Deng won his seat by a landslide, but was assassinated just as the results were announced.\n\nLater years\n\nThe exiled SANU leaders did not accept Deng's moderate approach, and formed the Azania Liberation Front in Kampala, Uganda.\nBetween 1965 and 1967 Joseph Oduho was president of the Azania Liberation Front. He finally broke with the exile groups in 1971 due to disagreement with Joseph Lagu, commander of the Anyanya guerrilla fighters, who wanted to subordinate the political wing of the movement to the military wing.\nOduho was committed to the unity of Southern Sudan, while Lagu wanted to withdraw into a smaller \"Equatoria\" region.\n\nDeng was the father of Nhial Deng Nhial, the current South Sudan Minister for Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) Affairs. \nThe party advocated self-determination and independence for the south. The current Chairperson of SANU is Dr. Toby Maduot. SANU has 4 members in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly.\n\nReferences\n\nAfrican and Black nationalist parties in Africa\nPolitical parties established in 1963\nPolitical parties in South Sudan\nSouth Sudanese nationalism\n1963 establishments in Africa"
]
|
[
"Junior Seau",
"San Diego Chargers",
"When did Sanu play with the Chargers?",
"Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers"
]
| C_3f0c8a40beef40daac998e1289ab7fe9_1 | What position did he play? | 2 | What position did Junior Seau play for the San Diego Chargers? | Junior Seau | After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon. Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. He was also voted NFL's Defensive MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year. He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. That year, Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Known for his passionate play, he was a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Originally from Oceanside, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans. He was chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft. Seau started for 13 seasons for the Chargers and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame and had his number 55 retired.
Seau died by suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at the age of 43. Later studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that has also been found in other deceased former NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma, and can lead to conditions like dementia, rage, and depression.
Early years
Seau was born on January 19, 1969 in Oceanside, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Seau Sr. and Luisa Mauga Seau of Aunu'u, American Samoa. Tiaina Sr.'s grandfather was a village chief in Pago Pago. Tiaina Sr. worked at a rubber factory and was a school custodian, and Luisa worked at the commissary of Camp Pendleton in Southern California and a laundromat. After Seau was born, the family moved back to American Samoa for several years before returning to San Diego; Seau did not learn to speak English until he was seven years old. At home, Seau and his three brothers had to sleep in the family's one-car garage.
Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League offensive MVP and led the 18-member Oceanside Pirates team to the San Diego 2A championship. Parade selected Seau to its high school All-American team.
In basketball, as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year. He helped his team win the 1987 Lt. James Mitchell Tournament and make third place in the Mt. Carmel Invitational. In track and field, he was the Avocado League champion in the shot put. Seau was also named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.
College career
After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC). He had to sit out his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.
Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.
He lettered in his final two seasons with the Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.
Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. In 1992, he was awarded the George Halas Trophy by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the NFL's top defensive player, AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year.
He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl due to an ankle injury.
Miami Dolphins
On April 16, 2003, Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft choice. He started 15 games that season for the 9–7 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players. However, in 2004, a torn pectoral muscle limited Seau to eight games, 68 tackles, and one sack. He started five of the first seven games he played in with the Dolphins in 2005, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 with an achilles tendon injury. On March 6, 2006, Seau was released by the Dolphins.
New England Patriots
Seau announced his retirement at an emotional press conference on August 14, 2006. He called it his "graduation" because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life.
Seau returned to football just four days later, signing with the New England Patriots. He started 10 of the first 11 games for the Patriots, recording 69 tackles before breaking his right arm while making a tackle in a game against the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27.
On May 21, 2007, Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season. In September 2007, Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains. He was a prominent contributor to the Patriots undefeated regular season that year. He started four of the 16 games he played in for the Patriots in 2007, and then started the Patriots' two playoff games before Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. New England's undefeated streak ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
After the Patriots had a number of injuries late in the 2008 season, they re-signed Seau. He started two of four games he played. On December 22, 2008, a fan was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery for tackling Seau as he stood on the New England sideline during a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Seau stated that he did not feel threatened by the fan; he thought that the fan was happy and excited and got carried away.
On October 7, 2009, NFL Network reported that the New England Patriots had an "agreement in principle" with Seau for a fourth one-year deal; Seau took physicals and worked out with the team. He officially signed on October 13. He was active for 7 games for the Patriots in 2009, recording 14 tackles as a reserve linebacker.
Retirement
Seau announced his intention to retire permanently on the television program Inside the NFL on January 13, 2010.
NFL career statistics
Beyond football
His restaurant at Westfield Mission Valley in Mission Valley, California—Seau's The Restaurant, which opened in 1996—was his most successful business venture. Seau also had a clothing line, Say Ow Gear. The restaurant was closed May 16, 2012, just two weeks after his death; the trustees of his estate explained that "Without Seau's charismatic leadership, it was felt that the future profitability of the restaurant could be in question."
Sports Jobs with Junior Seau premiered on December 2, 2009, on Versus. The show followed Seau as he did the jobs that make sports work. Ten episodes aired through January 27, 2010.
Seau was actively involved with community work through Samoan "sister city" projects within San Diego County.
Junior Seau Foundation
In 1992, Seau created the Junior Seau Foundation with the mission to educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, recreational opportunities, anti-juvenile delinquency efforts and complementary educational programs.
The 20th Anniversary Junior Seau Celebrity Golf Classic was held March 10–12, 2012, at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
The Foundation gives out an annual award to the individual who exemplifies the mission statement of the Junior Seau Foundation.
2000 — Legend of the Year — Sid Brooks
2001 — Legend of the Year — Lance Alworth
2002 — Legend of the Year — Sid Gillman
2003 — Legend of the Year — Don Coryell
2004 — Legend of the Year — Marcus Allen
2005 — Legend of the Year — Deacon Jones
2006 — Legend of the Year — Bobby Ross
2007 — Legend of the Year — Warren Moon
2008 — Legend of the Year — Marshall Faulk
2009 — Legend of the Year — Charlie Joiner
2010 — Legend of the Year — John Lynch
2011 — Legend of the Year — Bill Walton
Personal life
In 1989, Seau's oldest son, Tyler, was born to Seau's high school sweetheart, Melissa Waldrop. Seau broke up with Waldrop when Tyler was 13 months old. He married Gina Deboer in 1991. The couple had three children together, a daughter and two sons, before divorcing in 2002. Seau's son Jake attended Duke University where he played lacrosse. In 2019, Jake signed with the Dallas Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Seau sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff in Carlsbad, California only hours after he was arrested for domestic violence following an incident reported to the police by his girlfriend at their home in nearby Oceanside. Seau stated that he fell asleep at the wheel, and was never charged in the domestic incident.
Seau's nephew, Ian Seau, committed to play at Nevada, and became an undrafted free-agent for Los Angeles Rams in 2016 as a defensive end. Then in 2017, Ian signed with the Bills. Another nephew, Micah Seau, committed to play for San Diego State. His cousin was Pulu Poumele.
Death
On May 2, 2012, Seau's girlfriend found him dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Oceanside. He left no suicide note, but did leave a piece of paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't". The song, co-written by his friend Jamie Paulin, describes a man who regrets the person he has become.
Seau's death recalled the 2011 suicide of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain be studied for brain trauma. Seau had no prior reported history of concussions, but his ex-wife said he did sustain concussions during his career. "He always bounced back and kept on playing," Gina Seau said. "He's a warrior. That didn't stop him." Seau had insomnia for at least the last seven years of his life, and he was taking zolpidem (Ambien), a prescription drug commonly prescribed for sleep disorders.
Seau's autopsy report released later in August 2012 by the San Diego County medical examiner indicated that his body contained no illegal drugs or alcohol, but did show traces of zolpidem. No apparent signs of brain damage were found, nor was he determined to have exhibited mood changes and irritability often apparent with concussions and brain damage.
There was speculation that Seau suffered brain damage due to CTE, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom, as dozens of deceased former NFL players were found to have suffered from CTE. Seau's family donated his brain tissue to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH; other candidates included the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Brain Injury Research Institute. Citing the Seau family's right to privacy, NIH did not intend to release the findings.
On January 10, 2013, Seau's family released the NIH's findings that his brain showed definitive signs of CTE. Russell Lonser of the NIH coordinated with three independent neuropathologists, giving them unidentified tissue from three brains including Seau's. The three experts along with two government researchers arrived at the same conclusion. The NIH said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
On January 23, 2013, the Seau family sued the NFL over the brain injuries suffered by Seau over his career. In 2014, his family continued to pursue the lawsuit while opting out of the NFL concussion lawsuit's proposed settlement, which was initially funded with $765 million. The family reached a confidential settlement with the league in 2018. The Seaus' attorney said that they were "pleased" with the resolution.
Legacy
Seau was known for his passionate playing style, including a fist-pumping dance he performed after big plays. Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News said Seau "probably was the most dynamic player of his era". NFL head coach Norv Turner, who coached Seau as well as faced him as an opponent, said, "The No. 1 thing about Junior was that he was such an explosive player he'd defeat one-on-one blocks and he was a great tackler."
Seau's quickness allowed him to freelance, which sometimes put him out of position. "People say he gambled a bit, but in reality, his insight led him to the ball ... Even when he was wrong, you had to account for him and that created problems for offensive coordinators. You'd better have somebody blocking him," said former NFL coach Tom Bass.
He was praised by teammates for his work ethic and leadership. He would play when hurt, and often refused to leave games. "He played the game the way it was meant to be played," said retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Bill Belichick, his coach at New England, praised Seau's leadership and willingness to accept any role.
He was named to the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams, which honor the top players and coaches in the team's history. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame on November 27, 2011, as part of Alumni Day ceremonies at a sold-out game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Fellow Chargers Hall of Famer Dan Fouts introduced Seau before a crowd of nearly 71,000.
Chargers President Dean Spanos honored Seau after his death as "...An icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn't just a football player, he was so much more." The Chargers retired his No. 55 during his public memorial. The Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre and Junior Seau Beach Community Center were renamed posthumously in his honor by the city of Oceanside in July 2012.
On September 1, 2012, during the University of Southern California's home opener, Seau was honored by the team. On September 16, 2012, the Chargers retired Seau's number 55 during a ceremony at the 2012 regular season home opener against the Tennessee Titans. The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted Seau into the Breitbard Hall of Fame on February 25, 2013, forgoing their normal two-year waiting period after an athlete's retirement or death.
Seau became eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. His eligibility was not accelerated due to his death from the standard five-year waiting period after a player's retirement. On January 31, 2015, Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he were ever to be inducted. However, the Hall of Fame cited a five-year policy of not allowing speeches for deceased inductees, denying Sydney the opportunity to introduce her father.
Instead, she was allowed to speak onstage for three minutes uninterrupted on the NFL Network, and delivered a pared down version of her full speech, which The New York Times published. Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
On September 21, 2018, ESPN released Seau, a 30 for 30 documentary that highlighted Seau's career, as well as the effects of his injuries on his life, his family, and his post-football endeavors.
See also
List of suicides
List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
References
External links
Seau Foundation
1969 births
2012 deaths
2012 suicides
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football linebackers
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American people of Samoan descent
American philanthropists
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Burials in California
Deaths by firearm in California
Miami Dolphins players
National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
New England Patriots players
Players of American football from California
Players of American football from San Diego
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
San Diego Chargers players
Sportspeople from Oceanside, California
Sportspeople from San Diego
Suicides by firearm in California
USC Trojans football players | false | [
"is a former Japanese football player.\n\nPlaying career\nIwamaru was born in Fujioka on December 4, 1981. After graduating from high school, he joined the J1 League club Vissel Kobe in 2000. However he did not play as much as Makoto Kakegawa until 2003. In 2004, he played more often, after Kakegawa got hurt. In September 2004, he moved to Júbilo Iwata. In late 2004, he played often, after regular goalkeeper Yohei Sato got hurt. In 2005, he moved to the newly promoted J2 League club, Thespa Kusatsu (later Thespakusatsu Gunma), based in his home region. He competed with Nobuyuki Kojima for the position and played often. \n\nIn 2006, he moved to the newly promoted J1 club, Avispa Fukuoka. However he did not play as much as Yuichi Mizutani. In 2007, he moved to the newly promoted J1 club, Yokohama FC. However he did not play as much as Takanori Sugeno and the club was relegated to J2 within a year. Although he did not play as much as Kenji Koyama in 2008, he played often in 2009. He did not play at all in 2010. \n\nIn 2011, he moved to the J2 club Roasso Kumamoto. He did not play as much as Yuta Minami. In 2013, he moved to the newly promoted J2 club, V-Varen Nagasaki. Although he played in the first three matches, he did play at all after the fourth match, when Junki Kanayama played in his place. In 2014, he moved to the J2 club Thespakusatsu Gunma based in his local region. However he did not play at all, and retired at the end of the 2014 season.\n\nClub statistics\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n \n\n1981 births\nLiving people\nAssociation football people from Gunma Prefecture\nJapanese footballers\nJ1 League players\nJ2 League players\nVissel Kobe players\nJúbilo Iwata players\nThespakusatsu Gunma players\nAvispa Fukuoka players\nYokohama FC players\nRoasso Kumamoto players\nV-Varen Nagasaki players\nAssociation football goalkeepers",
"John Stirk (born 5 September 1955) is an English former footballer. His primary position was as a right back. During his career he played for Ipswich Town, Watford, Chesterfield and North Shields. He also made two appearances for England at youth level.\n\nCareer \n\nBorn in Consett, Stirk played youth football for local non-league team Consett A.F.C. He joined Ipswich Town on schoolboy terms in 1971, and after making two appearances for the England youth team, turned professional in 1973. During his time at Ipswich he was largely a reserve. He made his first-team debut on 5 November 1977, in a Football League First Division match against Manchester City at Portman Road. His manager at the time was Bobby Robson, who later went on to manage the England national football team. Ipswich won the FA Cup in 1978, in what proved to be Stirk's final season at the club. However, Stirk himself did not play in the final, nor did he play in any of the rounds en route to the final.\n\nAnother future England manager, Watford's Graham Taylor, signed Stirk for a transfer fee of £30,000 at the end of the 1977–78 season. Stirk went on to play every Watford league game in the 1978–79 season, as Watford gained promotion to the Second Division. However, Stirk did not play for Watford in the Second Division. Two months before the end of the 1979–80 season, Stirk was sold to Third Division side Chesterfield, at a profit to Watford of £10,000. After making 56 league appearances over two and a half seasons, Stirk left Chesterfield in 1983 moving on to Blyth Spartans then Tow Law Town, and finished his career at non-league North Shields.\n\nReferences \n\n1955 births\nLiving people\nConsett A.F.C. players\nIpswich Town F.C. players\nWatford F.C. players\nChesterfield F.C. players\nEnglish Football League players\nNorth Shields F.C. players\nSportspeople from Consett\nAssociation football fullbacks\nEnglish footballers"
]
|
[
"Junior Seau",
"San Diego Chargers",
"When did Sanu play with the Chargers?",
"Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers",
"What position did he play?",
"I don't know."
]
| C_3f0c8a40beef40daac998e1289ab7fe9_1 | What did he accomplish during his time with the Chargers? | 3 | What did Junior Seau accomplish during his time with the San Diego Chargers? | Junior Seau | After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon. Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. He was also voted NFL's Defensive MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year. He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. That year, Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury. CANNOTANSWER | Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. | Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Known for his passionate play, he was a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Originally from Oceanside, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans. He was chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft. Seau started for 13 seasons for the Chargers and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame and had his number 55 retired.
Seau died by suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at the age of 43. Later studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that has also been found in other deceased former NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma, and can lead to conditions like dementia, rage, and depression.
Early years
Seau was born on January 19, 1969 in Oceanside, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Seau Sr. and Luisa Mauga Seau of Aunu'u, American Samoa. Tiaina Sr.'s grandfather was a village chief in Pago Pago. Tiaina Sr. worked at a rubber factory and was a school custodian, and Luisa worked at the commissary of Camp Pendleton in Southern California and a laundromat. After Seau was born, the family moved back to American Samoa for several years before returning to San Diego; Seau did not learn to speak English until he was seven years old. At home, Seau and his three brothers had to sleep in the family's one-car garage.
Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League offensive MVP and led the 18-member Oceanside Pirates team to the San Diego 2A championship. Parade selected Seau to its high school All-American team.
In basketball, as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year. He helped his team win the 1987 Lt. James Mitchell Tournament and make third place in the Mt. Carmel Invitational. In track and field, he was the Avocado League champion in the shot put. Seau was also named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.
College career
After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC). He had to sit out his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.
Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.
He lettered in his final two seasons with the Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.
Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. In 1992, he was awarded the George Halas Trophy by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the NFL's top defensive player, AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year.
He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl due to an ankle injury.
Miami Dolphins
On April 16, 2003, Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft choice. He started 15 games that season for the 9–7 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players. However, in 2004, a torn pectoral muscle limited Seau to eight games, 68 tackles, and one sack. He started five of the first seven games he played in with the Dolphins in 2005, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 with an achilles tendon injury. On March 6, 2006, Seau was released by the Dolphins.
New England Patriots
Seau announced his retirement at an emotional press conference on August 14, 2006. He called it his "graduation" because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life.
Seau returned to football just four days later, signing with the New England Patriots. He started 10 of the first 11 games for the Patriots, recording 69 tackles before breaking his right arm while making a tackle in a game against the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27.
On May 21, 2007, Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season. In September 2007, Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains. He was a prominent contributor to the Patriots undefeated regular season that year. He started four of the 16 games he played in for the Patriots in 2007, and then started the Patriots' two playoff games before Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. New England's undefeated streak ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
After the Patriots had a number of injuries late in the 2008 season, they re-signed Seau. He started two of four games he played. On December 22, 2008, a fan was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery for tackling Seau as he stood on the New England sideline during a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Seau stated that he did not feel threatened by the fan; he thought that the fan was happy and excited and got carried away.
On October 7, 2009, NFL Network reported that the New England Patriots had an "agreement in principle" with Seau for a fourth one-year deal; Seau took physicals and worked out with the team. He officially signed on October 13. He was active for 7 games for the Patriots in 2009, recording 14 tackles as a reserve linebacker.
Retirement
Seau announced his intention to retire permanently on the television program Inside the NFL on January 13, 2010.
NFL career statistics
Beyond football
His restaurant at Westfield Mission Valley in Mission Valley, California—Seau's The Restaurant, which opened in 1996—was his most successful business venture. Seau also had a clothing line, Say Ow Gear. The restaurant was closed May 16, 2012, just two weeks after his death; the trustees of his estate explained that "Without Seau's charismatic leadership, it was felt that the future profitability of the restaurant could be in question."
Sports Jobs with Junior Seau premiered on December 2, 2009, on Versus. The show followed Seau as he did the jobs that make sports work. Ten episodes aired through January 27, 2010.
Seau was actively involved with community work through Samoan "sister city" projects within San Diego County.
Junior Seau Foundation
In 1992, Seau created the Junior Seau Foundation with the mission to educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, recreational opportunities, anti-juvenile delinquency efforts and complementary educational programs.
The 20th Anniversary Junior Seau Celebrity Golf Classic was held March 10–12, 2012, at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
The Foundation gives out an annual award to the individual who exemplifies the mission statement of the Junior Seau Foundation.
2000 — Legend of the Year — Sid Brooks
2001 — Legend of the Year — Lance Alworth
2002 — Legend of the Year — Sid Gillman
2003 — Legend of the Year — Don Coryell
2004 — Legend of the Year — Marcus Allen
2005 — Legend of the Year — Deacon Jones
2006 — Legend of the Year — Bobby Ross
2007 — Legend of the Year — Warren Moon
2008 — Legend of the Year — Marshall Faulk
2009 — Legend of the Year — Charlie Joiner
2010 — Legend of the Year — John Lynch
2011 — Legend of the Year — Bill Walton
Personal life
In 1989, Seau's oldest son, Tyler, was born to Seau's high school sweetheart, Melissa Waldrop. Seau broke up with Waldrop when Tyler was 13 months old. He married Gina Deboer in 1991. The couple had three children together, a daughter and two sons, before divorcing in 2002. Seau's son Jake attended Duke University where he played lacrosse. In 2019, Jake signed with the Dallas Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Seau sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff in Carlsbad, California only hours after he was arrested for domestic violence following an incident reported to the police by his girlfriend at their home in nearby Oceanside. Seau stated that he fell asleep at the wheel, and was never charged in the domestic incident.
Seau's nephew, Ian Seau, committed to play at Nevada, and became an undrafted free-agent for Los Angeles Rams in 2016 as a defensive end. Then in 2017, Ian signed with the Bills. Another nephew, Micah Seau, committed to play for San Diego State. His cousin was Pulu Poumele.
Death
On May 2, 2012, Seau's girlfriend found him dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Oceanside. He left no suicide note, but did leave a piece of paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't". The song, co-written by his friend Jamie Paulin, describes a man who regrets the person he has become.
Seau's death recalled the 2011 suicide of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain be studied for brain trauma. Seau had no prior reported history of concussions, but his ex-wife said he did sustain concussions during his career. "He always bounced back and kept on playing," Gina Seau said. "He's a warrior. That didn't stop him." Seau had insomnia for at least the last seven years of his life, and he was taking zolpidem (Ambien), a prescription drug commonly prescribed for sleep disorders.
Seau's autopsy report released later in August 2012 by the San Diego County medical examiner indicated that his body contained no illegal drugs or alcohol, but did show traces of zolpidem. No apparent signs of brain damage were found, nor was he determined to have exhibited mood changes and irritability often apparent with concussions and brain damage.
There was speculation that Seau suffered brain damage due to CTE, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom, as dozens of deceased former NFL players were found to have suffered from CTE. Seau's family donated his brain tissue to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH; other candidates included the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Brain Injury Research Institute. Citing the Seau family's right to privacy, NIH did not intend to release the findings.
On January 10, 2013, Seau's family released the NIH's findings that his brain showed definitive signs of CTE. Russell Lonser of the NIH coordinated with three independent neuropathologists, giving them unidentified tissue from three brains including Seau's. The three experts along with two government researchers arrived at the same conclusion. The NIH said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
On January 23, 2013, the Seau family sued the NFL over the brain injuries suffered by Seau over his career. In 2014, his family continued to pursue the lawsuit while opting out of the NFL concussion lawsuit's proposed settlement, which was initially funded with $765 million. The family reached a confidential settlement with the league in 2018. The Seaus' attorney said that they were "pleased" with the resolution.
Legacy
Seau was known for his passionate playing style, including a fist-pumping dance he performed after big plays. Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News said Seau "probably was the most dynamic player of his era". NFL head coach Norv Turner, who coached Seau as well as faced him as an opponent, said, "The No. 1 thing about Junior was that he was such an explosive player he'd defeat one-on-one blocks and he was a great tackler."
Seau's quickness allowed him to freelance, which sometimes put him out of position. "People say he gambled a bit, but in reality, his insight led him to the ball ... Even when he was wrong, you had to account for him and that created problems for offensive coordinators. You'd better have somebody blocking him," said former NFL coach Tom Bass.
He was praised by teammates for his work ethic and leadership. He would play when hurt, and often refused to leave games. "He played the game the way it was meant to be played," said retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Bill Belichick, his coach at New England, praised Seau's leadership and willingness to accept any role.
He was named to the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams, which honor the top players and coaches in the team's history. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame on November 27, 2011, as part of Alumni Day ceremonies at a sold-out game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Fellow Chargers Hall of Famer Dan Fouts introduced Seau before a crowd of nearly 71,000.
Chargers President Dean Spanos honored Seau after his death as "...An icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn't just a football player, he was so much more." The Chargers retired his No. 55 during his public memorial. The Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre and Junior Seau Beach Community Center were renamed posthumously in his honor by the city of Oceanside in July 2012.
On September 1, 2012, during the University of Southern California's home opener, Seau was honored by the team. On September 16, 2012, the Chargers retired Seau's number 55 during a ceremony at the 2012 regular season home opener against the Tennessee Titans. The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted Seau into the Breitbard Hall of Fame on February 25, 2013, forgoing their normal two-year waiting period after an athlete's retirement or death.
Seau became eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. His eligibility was not accelerated due to his death from the standard five-year waiting period after a player's retirement. On January 31, 2015, Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he were ever to be inducted. However, the Hall of Fame cited a five-year policy of not allowing speeches for deceased inductees, denying Sydney the opportunity to introduce her father.
Instead, she was allowed to speak onstage for three minutes uninterrupted on the NFL Network, and delivered a pared down version of her full speech, which The New York Times published. Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
On September 21, 2018, ESPN released Seau, a 30 for 30 documentary that highlighted Seau's career, as well as the effects of his injuries on his life, his family, and his post-football endeavors.
See also
List of suicides
List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
References
External links
Seau Foundation
1969 births
2012 deaths
2012 suicides
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football linebackers
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American people of Samoan descent
American philanthropists
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Burials in California
Deaths by firearm in California
Miami Dolphins players
National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
New England Patriots players
Players of American football from California
Players of American football from San Diego
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
San Diego Chargers players
Sportspeople from Oceanside, California
Sportspeople from San Diego
Suicides by firearm in California
USC Trojans football players | true | [
"The 2015 season was the San Diego Chargers' 46th in the National Football League, their 56th overall and their third under head coach Mike McCoy. The team had its worst season since 2003 with a 4–12 record.\n\nOffseason\n\nSignings\n\nDepartures\n\nDraft\n\n|-\n| 4\n| colspan=7 align=center| None – see draft trades below\n|-\n\n|-\n| 7\n| colspan=7 align=center| None – see draft trades below\n|-\n\nNotes\n The Chargers traded their fourth-round selection (No. 117 overall) and 2016 fifth-round selection to the San Francisco 49ers to move up in the first round to select Melvin Gordon.\n The Chargers traded their seventh-round selection (No. 236 overall) to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for defensive tackle Sean Lissemore.\n\nStaff\n\nFinal roster\n\nSchedule\n\nPreseason\n\nRegular season\n\nNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.\n\nGame summaries\n\nWeek 1: vs. Detroit Lions\n\nThe Chargers started their season at home against the Lions. After falling behind 21-10 at halftime, the Bolts managed to outscore the Lions 23-7 in the second half of the game and win it 33-28.\n\nWith the win, the Chargers started their season 1-0 and improved to 5-0 all-time at home against Detroit.\n\nWeek 2: at Cincinnati Bengals\nThe Chargers would trail all game, and tried to come back towards the end of the game, but Philip Rivers threw an interception, sealing the game. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 1-1.\n\nWeek 3: at Minnesota Vikings\nThe Chargers once again would never lead during the game. The game was officially sealed when Chad Greenway returned an interception 91 yards down the sidelines for a touchdown. Adrian Peterson would rush for 126 yards on 20 attempts, including a 43-yard touchdown early in the third quarter on a play in which he ran through Charger defenders. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 1-2.\n\nWeek 4: vs. Cleveland Browns\nThe Browns would go down to tie the game with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. The Chargers would then get into field goal range for kicker Josh Lambo. Lambo attempted a 39-yard attempt, but the kick was no good, and the game appeared to be heading to overtime. However, the Browns were flagged for being offsides, as Tramon Williams jumped before the ball was snapped. The penalty gave Lambo a chance at redemption. This time, Lambo drilled the game-winning 34-yard field goal to give the Chargers the win. With the win, the Chargers improved to 2-2.\n\nWeek 5: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers\nThe Chargers took the lead after Josh Lambo made a 54-yard field goal with 2:56 remaining in the game. However, the Steelers, lead by Michael Vick, were able to march all the way down the field to score as time expired. The final play came on a wildcat formation call, as running back Le'Veon Bell took the direct snap and rushed in for the game winner as the clock expired. The play was reviewed, and the call stood, giving Pittsburgh the win. This game is also notable for the number of Steeler fans that showed up to the game. According to the attendance, there were over 1,000 Steeler fans in the crowd during this game, and whenever the Steelers would score, terrible towels would be waved all over the place, as if the game was being held at Heinz Field. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-3.\n\nWeek 6: at Green Bay Packers\n\nThe Chargers travel to Lambeau Field to take on Aaron Rodgers and the red-hot Green Bay Packers. However, despite a big day from Philip Rivers throwing for 503 yards, it wasn't enough to stun the Packers in Lambeau and they would go on to lose, 27-20.\n\nWith the close loss, the Chargers drop to 2-4.\n\nWeek 7: vs. Oakland Raiders\nThe Chargers would trail as much as 37-6 for most of the game. The Chargers would try to come back, and outscored Oakland 23-0 in the fourth quarter. However, it was not enough, as the Chargers lost 37-29. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-5.\n\nWeek 8: at Baltimore Ravens\nThe 1-6 Ravens took down the Chargers after Justin Tucker nailed the game winning 39-yard field goal as time expired. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-6.\n\nWeek 9: vs. Chicago Bears\nFor the second time this season, the Chargers home opponent's fans seemed to outnumber their own fans, as Bears fans were heard for most of the game. The Chargers would lead for most of the game. However, the Bears would go down to take the lead on a Zach Miller touchdown. Miller had to go airborne and made the catch with one hand. The grab would seal the win for the Bears. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-7.\n\nWeek 11: vs. Kansas City Chiefs\nThis game was originally going to be on Sunday Night Football, but was later changed to 4:25 after the Bengals-Cardinals game was flexed to Sunday Night. The Chiefs rattled the Chargers 33-3, and it was the first time the Chargers failed to score a touchdown since 2012 against the Falcons. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-8.\n\nWeek 12: at Jacksonville Jaguars\nThe Chargers were able to hold off a comeback by the Jaguars in the fourth quarter, and the Chargers got their first road win of the season. With the win, San Diego went to 3-8.\n\nWeek 13: vs. Denver Broncos\nFor the second time in 3 weeks, the Chargers would fail to score a touchdown, as they were only held to 3 points against a powerful Broncos defense. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 3-9.\n\nWeek 14: at Kansas City Chiefs\nFor the second time this season against the Chiefs, the Chargers did not score a touchdown. This game, however, was a lot closer, as the Chargers lost by a mere 7 points. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 3-10. They were outscored in the season series with Kansas City 43-6.\n\nWeek 15: vs. Miami Dolphins\n\nThe Chargers easily dominated the Dolphins, 30-14, to go to 4-10 in what some thought could've been the last game the Chargers played in San Diego.\n\nWeek 16: at Oakland Raiders\nThe Chargers would tie the game after Josh Lambo converted a 45-yard field goal attempt with 55 seconds remaining in regulation. In overtime, the Raiders would kick the go-ahead field goal on their first possession. The Chargers tried to go down the field to tie or win, but the comeback failed, and the Raiders held on for the win. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 4-11 and were swept by the Raiders for the first time since 2010.\n\nWeek 17: at Denver Broncos\nThe Chargers went to Denver to try and prevent the Broncos from clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs. Despite forcing 5 turnovers, the Chargers failed to convert them into points, as their offense struggled all afternoon. Brock Osweiler would later be benched, and Peyton Manning would enter the game for Denver. The Chargers would have the lead twice in this game, but lost them both. The game was officially put away after Ronnie Hillman ran for 23 yards for a touchdown to put the Broncos ahead for good. With the loss, the Chargers ended their season at 4-12, and also finished 0-6 against their division.\n\nStandings\n\nDivision\n\nConference\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nSan Diego\nSan Diego Chargers seasons\nSan Diego Chargers",
"Nicholas Adam Hardwick (born September 2, 1981) is a former American football center who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chargers in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft, and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006. He played college football for Purdue.\n\nHigh school career\nHardwick attended at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Unlike most of his peers, he did not play high school football, having \"ditched\" the sport in the ninth grade. He was a three-year varsity letterman in wrestling and won a state championship.\n\nCollege career\nHardwick was a sophomore economics major at Purdue University when his future San Diego Chargers teammate Drew Brees led the Boilermakers to the 2001 Rose Bowl. Inspired, he joined the football team as a walk-on, initially playing as a defensive tackle. The next year, he became the team’s starting center and earned all-Big Ten honors. During his senior year, his starting quarterback was Kyle Orton, who was drafted the following year.\n\nProfessional career\n\n2004 NFL Draft\nHardwick was picked with the 66th overall selection in the 3rd round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Chargers.\n\nSan Diego Chargers\nIn 2004, Hardwick began his career by starting all 14 games he played in when incumbent starter Jason Ball held out due to a contract dispute. During the year, the Chargers ranked sixth in rushing offense and allowed the fourth-fewest sacks in the league.\n\nIn his second year as a pro, he again started all games he played in as the Chargers ranked in the top ten in rushing offense and in the top half of the league in sacks allowed.\n\nDuring the 2006 off-season, he agreed to a five-year $17 million contract extension with the Chargers.\nHe then went on to start all 16 games for the first time in his career as the Chargers ranked second in rushing offense and eighth in sacks allowed.\n\nIn December 2006, Hardwick was named the backup center for the AFC squad in the 2007 Pro Bowl, Jeff Saturday being the starter. He was one of 11 Chargers selected to the Pro Bowl that year.\n\nIn his fourth season with San Diego, he started 12 games, being forced to miss 4 due to a foot injury.\n\nIn 2008, Hardwick was inactive for the first three weeks of the season while recovering from an offseason foot injury. He returned to the starting lineup at center in Week 4 to play the remaining 13 games.\n\nIn 2009, Hardwick suffered an ankle injury so severe that it nearly ended his career. He missed 13 games that season, but returned in time for a late-season push to the playoffs and he hasn’t missed a game since.\n\n2010 was a comeback year for the center as he was back to his usual form. He started all 16 games for the second time of his career.\n\nIn 2011, Hardwick played another full season starting every game. He was one of the few players on a crippled offensive line hurt by multiple injuries. After the 2011 season ended, Hardwick became an unrestricted free agent, he had recently become a new father, and he had just watched one of his best friends and linemates, left guard Kris Dielman retire after suffering a serious concussion. All three factors led Hardwick to ponder whether he wanted to continue playing football, and if he did, whether he wanted to play it in San Diego or make a fresh start elsewhere. Hardwick decided to stay in San Diego and finish his career there, opting to sign a new three-year contract with the Chargers, worth $13,500,000.\n\nIn his 10th year with the Chargers, Hardwick maintained his place at center, starting in all 16 games and earning Chargers' Lineman of the Year honors for the second time in a row. However, quarterback Philip Rivers was sacked 49 times, a career high, due to the offensive line's struggle with injury and poor performance.\n\nOn September 10, 2014 the Chargers placed Hardwick on injured reserve with a neck injury, ending his season after one game. He announced his retirement on February 2, 2015.\n\nSerious health concerns played a large part in Hardwick's decision to retire. \"Nerves were getting compressed through various forms. My hands were going numb during training camp for weeks at a time. I was losing feeling in my fingers up through my elbows. I was having a bunch of stingers. On a daily basis, my hands were asleep, my elbows were burning, and I was losing a normalcy to life. It became reckless to continue playing\".\n\nPersonal life\n\nHardwick is married to his college sweetheart Jayme-Lee Biamonte, who played for the Boilermakers women's soccer team and currently serves as the San Diego State Aztecs women's soccer assistant coach. They have two sons.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n San Diego Chargers bio\n Purdue Boilermakers profile\n\n1981 births\nLiving people\nAmerican Conference Pro Bowl players\nAmerican football centers\nLos Angeles Chargers announcers\nNational Football League announcers\nPeople from Franklin, Indiana\nPlayers of American football from Indianapolis\nPlayers of American football from San Diego\nPurdue Boilermakers football players\nSan Diego Chargers announcers\nSan Diego Chargers players"
]
|
[
"Junior Seau",
"San Diego Chargers",
"When did Sanu play with the Chargers?",
"Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers",
"What position did he play?",
"I don't know.",
"What did he accomplish during his time with the Chargers?",
"Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles."
]
| C_3f0c8a40beef40daac998e1289ab7fe9_1 | What else did he do? | 4 | What else did Junior Seau do aside from being named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl? | Junior Seau | After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon. Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. He was also voted NFL's Defensive MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year. He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. That year, Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury. CANNOTANSWER | He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. | Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Known for his passionate play, he was a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Originally from Oceanside, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans. He was chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft. Seau started for 13 seasons for the Chargers and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame and had his number 55 retired.
Seau died by suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at the age of 43. Later studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that has also been found in other deceased former NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma, and can lead to conditions like dementia, rage, and depression.
Early years
Seau was born on January 19, 1969 in Oceanside, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Seau Sr. and Luisa Mauga Seau of Aunu'u, American Samoa. Tiaina Sr.'s grandfather was a village chief in Pago Pago. Tiaina Sr. worked at a rubber factory and was a school custodian, and Luisa worked at the commissary of Camp Pendleton in Southern California and a laundromat. After Seau was born, the family moved back to American Samoa for several years before returning to San Diego; Seau did not learn to speak English until he was seven years old. At home, Seau and his three brothers had to sleep in the family's one-car garage.
Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League offensive MVP and led the 18-member Oceanside Pirates team to the San Diego 2A championship. Parade selected Seau to its high school All-American team.
In basketball, as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year. He helped his team win the 1987 Lt. James Mitchell Tournament and make third place in the Mt. Carmel Invitational. In track and field, he was the Avocado League champion in the shot put. Seau was also named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.
College career
After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC). He had to sit out his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.
Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.
He lettered in his final two seasons with the Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.
Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. In 1992, he was awarded the George Halas Trophy by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the NFL's top defensive player, AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year.
He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl due to an ankle injury.
Miami Dolphins
On April 16, 2003, Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft choice. He started 15 games that season for the 9–7 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players. However, in 2004, a torn pectoral muscle limited Seau to eight games, 68 tackles, and one sack. He started five of the first seven games he played in with the Dolphins in 2005, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 with an achilles tendon injury. On March 6, 2006, Seau was released by the Dolphins.
New England Patriots
Seau announced his retirement at an emotional press conference on August 14, 2006. He called it his "graduation" because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life.
Seau returned to football just four days later, signing with the New England Patriots. He started 10 of the first 11 games for the Patriots, recording 69 tackles before breaking his right arm while making a tackle in a game against the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27.
On May 21, 2007, Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season. In September 2007, Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains. He was a prominent contributor to the Patriots undefeated regular season that year. He started four of the 16 games he played in for the Patriots in 2007, and then started the Patriots' two playoff games before Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. New England's undefeated streak ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
After the Patriots had a number of injuries late in the 2008 season, they re-signed Seau. He started two of four games he played. On December 22, 2008, a fan was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery for tackling Seau as he stood on the New England sideline during a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Seau stated that he did not feel threatened by the fan; he thought that the fan was happy and excited and got carried away.
On October 7, 2009, NFL Network reported that the New England Patriots had an "agreement in principle" with Seau for a fourth one-year deal; Seau took physicals and worked out with the team. He officially signed on October 13. He was active for 7 games for the Patriots in 2009, recording 14 tackles as a reserve linebacker.
Retirement
Seau announced his intention to retire permanently on the television program Inside the NFL on January 13, 2010.
NFL career statistics
Beyond football
His restaurant at Westfield Mission Valley in Mission Valley, California—Seau's The Restaurant, which opened in 1996—was his most successful business venture. Seau also had a clothing line, Say Ow Gear. The restaurant was closed May 16, 2012, just two weeks after his death; the trustees of his estate explained that "Without Seau's charismatic leadership, it was felt that the future profitability of the restaurant could be in question."
Sports Jobs with Junior Seau premiered on December 2, 2009, on Versus. The show followed Seau as he did the jobs that make sports work. Ten episodes aired through January 27, 2010.
Seau was actively involved with community work through Samoan "sister city" projects within San Diego County.
Junior Seau Foundation
In 1992, Seau created the Junior Seau Foundation with the mission to educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, recreational opportunities, anti-juvenile delinquency efforts and complementary educational programs.
The 20th Anniversary Junior Seau Celebrity Golf Classic was held March 10–12, 2012, at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
The Foundation gives out an annual award to the individual who exemplifies the mission statement of the Junior Seau Foundation.
2000 — Legend of the Year — Sid Brooks
2001 — Legend of the Year — Lance Alworth
2002 — Legend of the Year — Sid Gillman
2003 — Legend of the Year — Don Coryell
2004 — Legend of the Year — Marcus Allen
2005 — Legend of the Year — Deacon Jones
2006 — Legend of the Year — Bobby Ross
2007 — Legend of the Year — Warren Moon
2008 — Legend of the Year — Marshall Faulk
2009 — Legend of the Year — Charlie Joiner
2010 — Legend of the Year — John Lynch
2011 — Legend of the Year — Bill Walton
Personal life
In 1989, Seau's oldest son, Tyler, was born to Seau's high school sweetheart, Melissa Waldrop. Seau broke up with Waldrop when Tyler was 13 months old. He married Gina Deboer in 1991. The couple had three children together, a daughter and two sons, before divorcing in 2002. Seau's son Jake attended Duke University where he played lacrosse. In 2019, Jake signed with the Dallas Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Seau sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff in Carlsbad, California only hours after he was arrested for domestic violence following an incident reported to the police by his girlfriend at their home in nearby Oceanside. Seau stated that he fell asleep at the wheel, and was never charged in the domestic incident.
Seau's nephew, Ian Seau, committed to play at Nevada, and became an undrafted free-agent for Los Angeles Rams in 2016 as a defensive end. Then in 2017, Ian signed with the Bills. Another nephew, Micah Seau, committed to play for San Diego State. His cousin was Pulu Poumele.
Death
On May 2, 2012, Seau's girlfriend found him dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Oceanside. He left no suicide note, but did leave a piece of paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't". The song, co-written by his friend Jamie Paulin, describes a man who regrets the person he has become.
Seau's death recalled the 2011 suicide of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain be studied for brain trauma. Seau had no prior reported history of concussions, but his ex-wife said he did sustain concussions during his career. "He always bounced back and kept on playing," Gina Seau said. "He's a warrior. That didn't stop him." Seau had insomnia for at least the last seven years of his life, and he was taking zolpidem (Ambien), a prescription drug commonly prescribed for sleep disorders.
Seau's autopsy report released later in August 2012 by the San Diego County medical examiner indicated that his body contained no illegal drugs or alcohol, but did show traces of zolpidem. No apparent signs of brain damage were found, nor was he determined to have exhibited mood changes and irritability often apparent with concussions and brain damage.
There was speculation that Seau suffered brain damage due to CTE, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom, as dozens of deceased former NFL players were found to have suffered from CTE. Seau's family donated his brain tissue to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH; other candidates included the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Brain Injury Research Institute. Citing the Seau family's right to privacy, NIH did not intend to release the findings.
On January 10, 2013, Seau's family released the NIH's findings that his brain showed definitive signs of CTE. Russell Lonser of the NIH coordinated with three independent neuropathologists, giving them unidentified tissue from three brains including Seau's. The three experts along with two government researchers arrived at the same conclusion. The NIH said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
On January 23, 2013, the Seau family sued the NFL over the brain injuries suffered by Seau over his career. In 2014, his family continued to pursue the lawsuit while opting out of the NFL concussion lawsuit's proposed settlement, which was initially funded with $765 million. The family reached a confidential settlement with the league in 2018. The Seaus' attorney said that they were "pleased" with the resolution.
Legacy
Seau was known for his passionate playing style, including a fist-pumping dance he performed after big plays. Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News said Seau "probably was the most dynamic player of his era". NFL head coach Norv Turner, who coached Seau as well as faced him as an opponent, said, "The No. 1 thing about Junior was that he was such an explosive player he'd defeat one-on-one blocks and he was a great tackler."
Seau's quickness allowed him to freelance, which sometimes put him out of position. "People say he gambled a bit, but in reality, his insight led him to the ball ... Even when he was wrong, you had to account for him and that created problems for offensive coordinators. You'd better have somebody blocking him," said former NFL coach Tom Bass.
He was praised by teammates for his work ethic and leadership. He would play when hurt, and often refused to leave games. "He played the game the way it was meant to be played," said retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Bill Belichick, his coach at New England, praised Seau's leadership and willingness to accept any role.
He was named to the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams, which honor the top players and coaches in the team's history. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame on November 27, 2011, as part of Alumni Day ceremonies at a sold-out game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Fellow Chargers Hall of Famer Dan Fouts introduced Seau before a crowd of nearly 71,000.
Chargers President Dean Spanos honored Seau after his death as "...An icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn't just a football player, he was so much more." The Chargers retired his No. 55 during his public memorial. The Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre and Junior Seau Beach Community Center were renamed posthumously in his honor by the city of Oceanside in July 2012.
On September 1, 2012, during the University of Southern California's home opener, Seau was honored by the team. On September 16, 2012, the Chargers retired Seau's number 55 during a ceremony at the 2012 regular season home opener against the Tennessee Titans. The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted Seau into the Breitbard Hall of Fame on February 25, 2013, forgoing their normal two-year waiting period after an athlete's retirement or death.
Seau became eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. His eligibility was not accelerated due to his death from the standard five-year waiting period after a player's retirement. On January 31, 2015, Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he were ever to be inducted. However, the Hall of Fame cited a five-year policy of not allowing speeches for deceased inductees, denying Sydney the opportunity to introduce her father.
Instead, she was allowed to speak onstage for three minutes uninterrupted on the NFL Network, and delivered a pared down version of her full speech, which The New York Times published. Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
On September 21, 2018, ESPN released Seau, a 30 for 30 documentary that highlighted Seau's career, as well as the effects of his injuries on his life, his family, and his post-football endeavors.
See also
List of suicides
List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
References
External links
Seau Foundation
1969 births
2012 deaths
2012 suicides
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football linebackers
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American people of Samoan descent
American philanthropists
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Burials in California
Deaths by firearm in California
Miami Dolphins players
National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
New England Patriots players
Players of American football from California
Players of American football from San Diego
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
San Diego Chargers players
Sportspeople from Oceanside, California
Sportspeople from San Diego
Suicides by firearm in California
USC Trojans football players | false | [
"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",
"Do You Know What I'm Going To Do Next Saturday? is a 1963 children's book published by Beginner Books and written by Helen Palmer Geisel, the first wife of Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss). Unlike most of the Beginner Books, Do You Know What I'm Going To Do Next Saturday? did not follow the format of text with inline drawings, being illustrated with black-and-white photographs by Lynn Fayman, featuring a boy named Rawli Davis. It is sometimes misattributed to Dr. Seuss himself. The book's cover features a photograph of a young boy sitting at a breakfast table with a huge pile of pancakes.\n\nActivities mentioned in the book include bowling, water skiing, marching, boxing, and shooting guns with the United States Marines, and eating more spaghetti \"than anyone else has eaten before.\n\nHelen Palmer's photograph-based children's books did not prove to be as popular as the more traditional text-and-illustrations format; however, Do You Know What I'm Going To Do Next Saturday received positive reviews and was listed by The New York Times as one of the best children's books of 1963. The book is currently out of print.\n\nReferences\n\n1963 children's books\nAmerican picture books"
]
|
[
"Junior Seau",
"San Diego Chargers",
"When did Sanu play with the Chargers?",
"Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers",
"What position did he play?",
"I don't know.",
"What did he accomplish during his time with the Chargers?",
"Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles.",
"What else did he do?",
"He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994."
]
| C_3f0c8a40beef40daac998e1289ab7fe9_1 | Did he haev any other notable achievements during this time? | 5 | Did Junior Seau have any other notable achievements during his time with the San Diego Chargers aside from having a career high with 155 tackles in 1994? | Junior Seau | After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon. Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. He was also voted NFL's Defensive MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year. He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. That year, Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury. CANNOTANSWER | Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. | Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Known for his passionate play, he was a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Originally from Oceanside, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans. He was chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft. Seau started for 13 seasons for the Chargers and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame and had his number 55 retired.
Seau died by suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at the age of 43. Later studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that has also been found in other deceased former NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma, and can lead to conditions like dementia, rage, and depression.
Early years
Seau was born on January 19, 1969 in Oceanside, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Seau Sr. and Luisa Mauga Seau of Aunu'u, American Samoa. Tiaina Sr.'s grandfather was a village chief in Pago Pago. Tiaina Sr. worked at a rubber factory and was a school custodian, and Luisa worked at the commissary of Camp Pendleton in Southern California and a laundromat. After Seau was born, the family moved back to American Samoa for several years before returning to San Diego; Seau did not learn to speak English until he was seven years old. At home, Seau and his three brothers had to sleep in the family's one-car garage.
Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League offensive MVP and led the 18-member Oceanside Pirates team to the San Diego 2A championship. Parade selected Seau to its high school All-American team.
In basketball, as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year. He helped his team win the 1987 Lt. James Mitchell Tournament and make third place in the Mt. Carmel Invitational. In track and field, he was the Avocado League champion in the shot put. Seau was also named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.
College career
After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC). He had to sit out his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.
Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.
He lettered in his final two seasons with the Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.
Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. In 1992, he was awarded the George Halas Trophy by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the NFL's top defensive player, AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year.
He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl due to an ankle injury.
Miami Dolphins
On April 16, 2003, Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft choice. He started 15 games that season for the 9–7 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players. However, in 2004, a torn pectoral muscle limited Seau to eight games, 68 tackles, and one sack. He started five of the first seven games he played in with the Dolphins in 2005, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 with an achilles tendon injury. On March 6, 2006, Seau was released by the Dolphins.
New England Patriots
Seau announced his retirement at an emotional press conference on August 14, 2006. He called it his "graduation" because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life.
Seau returned to football just four days later, signing with the New England Patriots. He started 10 of the first 11 games for the Patriots, recording 69 tackles before breaking his right arm while making a tackle in a game against the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27.
On May 21, 2007, Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season. In September 2007, Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains. He was a prominent contributor to the Patriots undefeated regular season that year. He started four of the 16 games he played in for the Patriots in 2007, and then started the Patriots' two playoff games before Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. New England's undefeated streak ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
After the Patriots had a number of injuries late in the 2008 season, they re-signed Seau. He started two of four games he played. On December 22, 2008, a fan was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery for tackling Seau as he stood on the New England sideline during a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Seau stated that he did not feel threatened by the fan; he thought that the fan was happy and excited and got carried away.
On October 7, 2009, NFL Network reported that the New England Patriots had an "agreement in principle" with Seau for a fourth one-year deal; Seau took physicals and worked out with the team. He officially signed on October 13. He was active for 7 games for the Patriots in 2009, recording 14 tackles as a reserve linebacker.
Retirement
Seau announced his intention to retire permanently on the television program Inside the NFL on January 13, 2010.
NFL career statistics
Beyond football
His restaurant at Westfield Mission Valley in Mission Valley, California—Seau's The Restaurant, which opened in 1996—was his most successful business venture. Seau also had a clothing line, Say Ow Gear. The restaurant was closed May 16, 2012, just two weeks after his death; the trustees of his estate explained that "Without Seau's charismatic leadership, it was felt that the future profitability of the restaurant could be in question."
Sports Jobs with Junior Seau premiered on December 2, 2009, on Versus. The show followed Seau as he did the jobs that make sports work. Ten episodes aired through January 27, 2010.
Seau was actively involved with community work through Samoan "sister city" projects within San Diego County.
Junior Seau Foundation
In 1992, Seau created the Junior Seau Foundation with the mission to educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, recreational opportunities, anti-juvenile delinquency efforts and complementary educational programs.
The 20th Anniversary Junior Seau Celebrity Golf Classic was held March 10–12, 2012, at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
The Foundation gives out an annual award to the individual who exemplifies the mission statement of the Junior Seau Foundation.
2000 — Legend of the Year — Sid Brooks
2001 — Legend of the Year — Lance Alworth
2002 — Legend of the Year — Sid Gillman
2003 — Legend of the Year — Don Coryell
2004 — Legend of the Year — Marcus Allen
2005 — Legend of the Year — Deacon Jones
2006 — Legend of the Year — Bobby Ross
2007 — Legend of the Year — Warren Moon
2008 — Legend of the Year — Marshall Faulk
2009 — Legend of the Year — Charlie Joiner
2010 — Legend of the Year — John Lynch
2011 — Legend of the Year — Bill Walton
Personal life
In 1989, Seau's oldest son, Tyler, was born to Seau's high school sweetheart, Melissa Waldrop. Seau broke up with Waldrop when Tyler was 13 months old. He married Gina Deboer in 1991. The couple had three children together, a daughter and two sons, before divorcing in 2002. Seau's son Jake attended Duke University where he played lacrosse. In 2019, Jake signed with the Dallas Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Seau sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff in Carlsbad, California only hours after he was arrested for domestic violence following an incident reported to the police by his girlfriend at their home in nearby Oceanside. Seau stated that he fell asleep at the wheel, and was never charged in the domestic incident.
Seau's nephew, Ian Seau, committed to play at Nevada, and became an undrafted free-agent for Los Angeles Rams in 2016 as a defensive end. Then in 2017, Ian signed with the Bills. Another nephew, Micah Seau, committed to play for San Diego State. His cousin was Pulu Poumele.
Death
On May 2, 2012, Seau's girlfriend found him dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Oceanside. He left no suicide note, but did leave a piece of paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't". The song, co-written by his friend Jamie Paulin, describes a man who regrets the person he has become.
Seau's death recalled the 2011 suicide of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain be studied for brain trauma. Seau had no prior reported history of concussions, but his ex-wife said he did sustain concussions during his career. "He always bounced back and kept on playing," Gina Seau said. "He's a warrior. That didn't stop him." Seau had insomnia for at least the last seven years of his life, and he was taking zolpidem (Ambien), a prescription drug commonly prescribed for sleep disorders.
Seau's autopsy report released later in August 2012 by the San Diego County medical examiner indicated that his body contained no illegal drugs or alcohol, but did show traces of zolpidem. No apparent signs of brain damage were found, nor was he determined to have exhibited mood changes and irritability often apparent with concussions and brain damage.
There was speculation that Seau suffered brain damage due to CTE, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom, as dozens of deceased former NFL players were found to have suffered from CTE. Seau's family donated his brain tissue to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH; other candidates included the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Brain Injury Research Institute. Citing the Seau family's right to privacy, NIH did not intend to release the findings.
On January 10, 2013, Seau's family released the NIH's findings that his brain showed definitive signs of CTE. Russell Lonser of the NIH coordinated with three independent neuropathologists, giving them unidentified tissue from three brains including Seau's. The three experts along with two government researchers arrived at the same conclusion. The NIH said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
On January 23, 2013, the Seau family sued the NFL over the brain injuries suffered by Seau over his career. In 2014, his family continued to pursue the lawsuit while opting out of the NFL concussion lawsuit's proposed settlement, which was initially funded with $765 million. The family reached a confidential settlement with the league in 2018. The Seaus' attorney said that they were "pleased" with the resolution.
Legacy
Seau was known for his passionate playing style, including a fist-pumping dance he performed after big plays. Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News said Seau "probably was the most dynamic player of his era". NFL head coach Norv Turner, who coached Seau as well as faced him as an opponent, said, "The No. 1 thing about Junior was that he was such an explosive player he'd defeat one-on-one blocks and he was a great tackler."
Seau's quickness allowed him to freelance, which sometimes put him out of position. "People say he gambled a bit, but in reality, his insight led him to the ball ... Even when he was wrong, you had to account for him and that created problems for offensive coordinators. You'd better have somebody blocking him," said former NFL coach Tom Bass.
He was praised by teammates for his work ethic and leadership. He would play when hurt, and often refused to leave games. "He played the game the way it was meant to be played," said retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Bill Belichick, his coach at New England, praised Seau's leadership and willingness to accept any role.
He was named to the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams, which honor the top players and coaches in the team's history. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame on November 27, 2011, as part of Alumni Day ceremonies at a sold-out game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Fellow Chargers Hall of Famer Dan Fouts introduced Seau before a crowd of nearly 71,000.
Chargers President Dean Spanos honored Seau after his death as "...An icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn't just a football player, he was so much more." The Chargers retired his No. 55 during his public memorial. The Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre and Junior Seau Beach Community Center were renamed posthumously in his honor by the city of Oceanside in July 2012.
On September 1, 2012, during the University of Southern California's home opener, Seau was honored by the team. On September 16, 2012, the Chargers retired Seau's number 55 during a ceremony at the 2012 regular season home opener against the Tennessee Titans. The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted Seau into the Breitbard Hall of Fame on February 25, 2013, forgoing their normal two-year waiting period after an athlete's retirement or death.
Seau became eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. His eligibility was not accelerated due to his death from the standard five-year waiting period after a player's retirement. On January 31, 2015, Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he were ever to be inducted. However, the Hall of Fame cited a five-year policy of not allowing speeches for deceased inductees, denying Sydney the opportunity to introduce her father.
Instead, she was allowed to speak onstage for three minutes uninterrupted on the NFL Network, and delivered a pared down version of her full speech, which The New York Times published. Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
On September 21, 2018, ESPN released Seau, a 30 for 30 documentary that highlighted Seau's career, as well as the effects of his injuries on his life, his family, and his post-football endeavors.
See also
List of suicides
List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
References
External links
Seau Foundation
1969 births
2012 deaths
2012 suicides
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football linebackers
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American people of Samoan descent
American philanthropists
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Burials in California
Deaths by firearm in California
Miami Dolphins players
National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
New England Patriots players
Players of American football from California
Players of American football from San Diego
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
San Diego Chargers players
Sportspeople from Oceanside, California
Sportspeople from San Diego
Suicides by firearm in California
USC Trojans football players | false | [
"Ravenala is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants. Classically, the genus was considered to include a single species, Ravenala madagascariensis, commonly known as the traveller's tree, traveller's palm or East-West palm, from Madagascar. It is not a true palm (family Arecaceae) but a member of the family Strelitziaceae. The genus is closely related to the southern African genus Strelitzia and the South American genus Phenakospermum. Some older classifications include these genera in the banana family (Musaceae). Although it is usually considered to be a single species, four different forms have been distinguished. Five other species were described in 2021, all from Madagascar: Ravenala agatheae Haev. & Razanats., R. blancii Haev., V.Jeannoda & A.Hladik, R. grandis Haev., Razanats, A.Hladik & P.Blanc, R. hladikorum Haev., Razanats., V. Jeannoda & P.Blanc, R. madagascariensis Sonn., et R. menahirana Haev. & Razanats.\n\nName\nIt has been given the name \"traveller's palm\" because the sheaths of the stems hold rainwater, which supposedly could be used as an emergency drinking supply for needy travellers. However, the water inside the plant is murky, black and smelly and should not be consumed without purification. Another plausible reason for its name is that the fan tends to grow on an east–west line, providing a crude compass.\n\nThe scientific name Ravenala comes from Malagasy ravinala meaning \"forest leaves\".\n\nDescription\nThe enormous paddle-shaped leaves are borne on long petioles, in a distinctive fan shape aligned in a single plane (distichous). The large white flowers are structurally similar to those of its relatives, the bird-of-paradise flowers Strelitzia reginae and Strelitzia nicolai, but are generally considered less attractive, with a green bract. These flowers, upon being pollinated, produce brilliant blue seeds. In tropical and subtropical regions, the plant is widely cultivated for its distinctive habit and foliage. As the plant grows older, it progressively loses the lowest or oldest leaves and reveals a sturdy grey trunk. Of the four forms, varieties or subspecies, the largest is the \"Bemavo\", from the hills of eastern Madagascar, which can be 100 feet (30 metres) in height with a trunk 2 feet (60 cm) thick. The foliar fan consists of 20 to 35 leaves, each as much as 36 feet (11 metres) in length.\n\nThe chromosome number is 2n = 22.\n\nEcology\nRuffed lemurs are a known pollinator of this plant, and given the size and structure of the inflorescences, as well as the lemur's selectivity, method of feeding, and long muzzle, this relationship is thought to have coevolved.\n\nCultivation\nThe plant requires a sunny spot (not full sun until it is larger). It responds well to fertiliser, especially if it is high in nitrogen during the growing season. This produces better growth and foliage. The plant grows to an average height of and requires moderate water.\n\nGallery\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n Floridata.com: Ravenala madagascariensis\n Madacamp.com/Ravinala\n University of Florida — Ravenala madagascariensis\n\nStrelitziaceae\nMonotypic Zingiberales genera\nEndemic flora of Madagascar\nGarden plants of Africa\nOrnamental trees",
"Vietnamocasia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Araceae.\n\nIts native range is Vietnam.\n\nSpecies:\n Vietnamocasia dauae N.S.Lý, Haev., S.Y.Wong & V.D.Nguyen\n\nReferences\n\nAraceae\nAraceae genera"
]
|
[
"Junior Seau",
"San Diego Chargers",
"When did Sanu play with the Chargers?",
"Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers",
"What position did he play?",
"I don't know.",
"What did he accomplish during his time with the Chargers?",
"Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles.",
"What else did he do?",
"He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994.",
"Did he haev any other notable achievements during this time?",
"Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX."
]
| C_3f0c8a40beef40daac998e1289ab7fe9_1 | What else did he do with the Chargers? | 6 | What else did Junior Seau do with the San Diego Chargers in addition to leading his team to a championship appearance in the Super Bowl XXIX? | Junior Seau | After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon. Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. He was also voted NFL's Defensive MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year. He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. That year, Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury. CANNOTANSWER | In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck | Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Known for his passionate play, he was a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Originally from Oceanside, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans. He was chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft. Seau started for 13 seasons for the Chargers and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame and had his number 55 retired.
Seau died by suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at the age of 43. Later studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that has also been found in other deceased former NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma, and can lead to conditions like dementia, rage, and depression.
Early years
Seau was born on January 19, 1969 in Oceanside, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Seau Sr. and Luisa Mauga Seau of Aunu'u, American Samoa. Tiaina Sr.'s grandfather was a village chief in Pago Pago. Tiaina Sr. worked at a rubber factory and was a school custodian, and Luisa worked at the commissary of Camp Pendleton in Southern California and a laundromat. After Seau was born, the family moved back to American Samoa for several years before returning to San Diego; Seau did not learn to speak English until he was seven years old. At home, Seau and his three brothers had to sleep in the family's one-car garage.
Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League offensive MVP and led the 18-member Oceanside Pirates team to the San Diego 2A championship. Parade selected Seau to its high school All-American team.
In basketball, as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year. He helped his team win the 1987 Lt. James Mitchell Tournament and make third place in the Mt. Carmel Invitational. In track and field, he was the Avocado League champion in the shot put. Seau was also named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.
College career
After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC). He had to sit out his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.
Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.
He lettered in his final two seasons with the Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.
Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. In 1992, he was awarded the George Halas Trophy by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the NFL's top defensive player, AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year.
He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl due to an ankle injury.
Miami Dolphins
On April 16, 2003, Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft choice. He started 15 games that season for the 9–7 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players. However, in 2004, a torn pectoral muscle limited Seau to eight games, 68 tackles, and one sack. He started five of the first seven games he played in with the Dolphins in 2005, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 with an achilles tendon injury. On March 6, 2006, Seau was released by the Dolphins.
New England Patriots
Seau announced his retirement at an emotional press conference on August 14, 2006. He called it his "graduation" because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life.
Seau returned to football just four days later, signing with the New England Patriots. He started 10 of the first 11 games for the Patriots, recording 69 tackles before breaking his right arm while making a tackle in a game against the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27.
On May 21, 2007, Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season. In September 2007, Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains. He was a prominent contributor to the Patriots undefeated regular season that year. He started four of the 16 games he played in for the Patriots in 2007, and then started the Patriots' two playoff games before Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. New England's undefeated streak ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
After the Patriots had a number of injuries late in the 2008 season, they re-signed Seau. He started two of four games he played. On December 22, 2008, a fan was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery for tackling Seau as he stood on the New England sideline during a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Seau stated that he did not feel threatened by the fan; he thought that the fan was happy and excited and got carried away.
On October 7, 2009, NFL Network reported that the New England Patriots had an "agreement in principle" with Seau for a fourth one-year deal; Seau took physicals and worked out with the team. He officially signed on October 13. He was active for 7 games for the Patriots in 2009, recording 14 tackles as a reserve linebacker.
Retirement
Seau announced his intention to retire permanently on the television program Inside the NFL on January 13, 2010.
NFL career statistics
Beyond football
His restaurant at Westfield Mission Valley in Mission Valley, California—Seau's The Restaurant, which opened in 1996—was his most successful business venture. Seau also had a clothing line, Say Ow Gear. The restaurant was closed May 16, 2012, just two weeks after his death; the trustees of his estate explained that "Without Seau's charismatic leadership, it was felt that the future profitability of the restaurant could be in question."
Sports Jobs with Junior Seau premiered on December 2, 2009, on Versus. The show followed Seau as he did the jobs that make sports work. Ten episodes aired through January 27, 2010.
Seau was actively involved with community work through Samoan "sister city" projects within San Diego County.
Junior Seau Foundation
In 1992, Seau created the Junior Seau Foundation with the mission to educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, recreational opportunities, anti-juvenile delinquency efforts and complementary educational programs.
The 20th Anniversary Junior Seau Celebrity Golf Classic was held March 10–12, 2012, at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
The Foundation gives out an annual award to the individual who exemplifies the mission statement of the Junior Seau Foundation.
2000 — Legend of the Year — Sid Brooks
2001 — Legend of the Year — Lance Alworth
2002 — Legend of the Year — Sid Gillman
2003 — Legend of the Year — Don Coryell
2004 — Legend of the Year — Marcus Allen
2005 — Legend of the Year — Deacon Jones
2006 — Legend of the Year — Bobby Ross
2007 — Legend of the Year — Warren Moon
2008 — Legend of the Year — Marshall Faulk
2009 — Legend of the Year — Charlie Joiner
2010 — Legend of the Year — John Lynch
2011 — Legend of the Year — Bill Walton
Personal life
In 1989, Seau's oldest son, Tyler, was born to Seau's high school sweetheart, Melissa Waldrop. Seau broke up with Waldrop when Tyler was 13 months old. He married Gina Deboer in 1991. The couple had three children together, a daughter and two sons, before divorcing in 2002. Seau's son Jake attended Duke University where he played lacrosse. In 2019, Jake signed with the Dallas Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Seau sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff in Carlsbad, California only hours after he was arrested for domestic violence following an incident reported to the police by his girlfriend at their home in nearby Oceanside. Seau stated that he fell asleep at the wheel, and was never charged in the domestic incident.
Seau's nephew, Ian Seau, committed to play at Nevada, and became an undrafted free-agent for Los Angeles Rams in 2016 as a defensive end. Then in 2017, Ian signed with the Bills. Another nephew, Micah Seau, committed to play for San Diego State. His cousin was Pulu Poumele.
Death
On May 2, 2012, Seau's girlfriend found him dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Oceanside. He left no suicide note, but did leave a piece of paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't". The song, co-written by his friend Jamie Paulin, describes a man who regrets the person he has become.
Seau's death recalled the 2011 suicide of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain be studied for brain trauma. Seau had no prior reported history of concussions, but his ex-wife said he did sustain concussions during his career. "He always bounced back and kept on playing," Gina Seau said. "He's a warrior. That didn't stop him." Seau had insomnia for at least the last seven years of his life, and he was taking zolpidem (Ambien), a prescription drug commonly prescribed for sleep disorders.
Seau's autopsy report released later in August 2012 by the San Diego County medical examiner indicated that his body contained no illegal drugs or alcohol, but did show traces of zolpidem. No apparent signs of brain damage were found, nor was he determined to have exhibited mood changes and irritability often apparent with concussions and brain damage.
There was speculation that Seau suffered brain damage due to CTE, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom, as dozens of deceased former NFL players were found to have suffered from CTE. Seau's family donated his brain tissue to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH; other candidates included the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Brain Injury Research Institute. Citing the Seau family's right to privacy, NIH did not intend to release the findings.
On January 10, 2013, Seau's family released the NIH's findings that his brain showed definitive signs of CTE. Russell Lonser of the NIH coordinated with three independent neuropathologists, giving them unidentified tissue from three brains including Seau's. The three experts along with two government researchers arrived at the same conclusion. The NIH said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
On January 23, 2013, the Seau family sued the NFL over the brain injuries suffered by Seau over his career. In 2014, his family continued to pursue the lawsuit while opting out of the NFL concussion lawsuit's proposed settlement, which was initially funded with $765 million. The family reached a confidential settlement with the league in 2018. The Seaus' attorney said that they were "pleased" with the resolution.
Legacy
Seau was known for his passionate playing style, including a fist-pumping dance he performed after big plays. Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News said Seau "probably was the most dynamic player of his era". NFL head coach Norv Turner, who coached Seau as well as faced him as an opponent, said, "The No. 1 thing about Junior was that he was such an explosive player he'd defeat one-on-one blocks and he was a great tackler."
Seau's quickness allowed him to freelance, which sometimes put him out of position. "People say he gambled a bit, but in reality, his insight led him to the ball ... Even when he was wrong, you had to account for him and that created problems for offensive coordinators. You'd better have somebody blocking him," said former NFL coach Tom Bass.
He was praised by teammates for his work ethic and leadership. He would play when hurt, and often refused to leave games. "He played the game the way it was meant to be played," said retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Bill Belichick, his coach at New England, praised Seau's leadership and willingness to accept any role.
He was named to the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams, which honor the top players and coaches in the team's history. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame on November 27, 2011, as part of Alumni Day ceremonies at a sold-out game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Fellow Chargers Hall of Famer Dan Fouts introduced Seau before a crowd of nearly 71,000.
Chargers President Dean Spanos honored Seau after his death as "...An icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn't just a football player, he was so much more." The Chargers retired his No. 55 during his public memorial. The Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre and Junior Seau Beach Community Center were renamed posthumously in his honor by the city of Oceanside in July 2012.
On September 1, 2012, during the University of Southern California's home opener, Seau was honored by the team. On September 16, 2012, the Chargers retired Seau's number 55 during a ceremony at the 2012 regular season home opener against the Tennessee Titans. The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted Seau into the Breitbard Hall of Fame on February 25, 2013, forgoing their normal two-year waiting period after an athlete's retirement or death.
Seau became eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. His eligibility was not accelerated due to his death from the standard five-year waiting period after a player's retirement. On January 31, 2015, Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he were ever to be inducted. However, the Hall of Fame cited a five-year policy of not allowing speeches for deceased inductees, denying Sydney the opportunity to introduce her father.
Instead, she was allowed to speak onstage for three minutes uninterrupted on the NFL Network, and delivered a pared down version of her full speech, which The New York Times published. Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
On September 21, 2018, ESPN released Seau, a 30 for 30 documentary that highlighted Seau's career, as well as the effects of his injuries on his life, his family, and his post-football endeavors.
See also
List of suicides
List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
References
External links
Seau Foundation
1969 births
2012 deaths
2012 suicides
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football linebackers
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American people of Samoan descent
American philanthropists
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Burials in California
Deaths by firearm in California
Miami Dolphins players
National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
New England Patriots players
Players of American football from California
Players of American football from San Diego
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
San Diego Chargers players
Sportspeople from Oceanside, California
Sportspeople from San Diego
Suicides by firearm in California
USC Trojans football players | true | [
"In American football, the Holy Roller was a controversial game-winning play by the Oakland Raiders against the San Diego Chargers on September 10, 1978, at San Diego Stadium in San Diego, California. It was officially ruled as a forward fumble by Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler that was recovered by his teammate, tight end Dave Casper, in the end zone for a touchdown, ultimately giving Oakland the 21–20 win. However, there have been differing interpretations of how this play should have actually been ruled, and it has remained a controversial play for fans of both teams involved. The NFL amended its rules after the 1978 season in order to prevent a recurrence of the play. Chargers fans refer to the play as the Immaculate Deception.\n\nHad the Chargers won this game, and had all other games that season remained with the same outcome, they would have made the playoffs taking the fifth seed over the Houston Oilers, by virtue of a tiebreaker. Both the Chargers and Oilers would have finished with a 10–6 record, but the Chargers' final game of the season was a victory over the Oilers, so the Chargers would have won the tiebreaker on a head-to-head matchup and clinched the fifth seed in the postseason. The final Houston-San Diego game therefore would have had direct playoff consequence, with the winner advancing to the playoffs and the loser being eliminated.\n\nThe play\n\nWith 10 seconds left in the game, the Raiders had possession of the ball at the Chargers' 14-yard line, trailing 20–14. Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler took the snap and found himself about to be sacked by Chargers linebacker Woodrow Lowe on the 24-yard line. The ball came out of Stabler's hands and moved forward towards the Chargers' goal line. Raiders running back Pete Banaszak appeared to try to recover the ball on the 12-yard line, but did not keep his footing, and pitched the ball with both hands even closer to the end zone. Raiders tight end Dave Casper was the next player to reach the ball but he also seemingly could not get a handle on it. He batted and kicked the ball into the end zone, where he fell on it for the game-tying touchdown as time ran out. With the ensuing extra point by placekicker Errol Mann, the Raiders won 21–20.\n\nAccording to the NFL rulebook, \"If a runner intentionally fumbles forward, it is a forward pass.\" Also during the play, the game officials ruled that Banaszak and Casper's actions were legal because it was impossible to determine if they intentionally batted the ball forward, which would have been ruled a penalty. The National Football League (NFL) also supported referee Jerry Markbreit's call that Stabler fumbled the ball instead of throwing it forward.\n\nFor years, Stabler publicly stated that it was a fumble. However, in a 2008 interview on NFL Films, he was asked if he could convince the camera crew that he did not flip the ball forward. Stabler responded, \"No, I can't convince you of that, because I did. I mean, what else was I going to do with it? Throw it out there, shake the dice.\" Banaszak and Casper also admitted that they deliberately batted the ball towards the end zone.\n\nReaction\nChargers fans responded with T-shirts depicting a blindfolded referee signaling a touchdown along with the words Immaculate Deception. The nickname was a play off the Immaculate Reception, a play that went against the Raiders in the 1972 playoffs against Pittsburgh.\n\nIn response to the Holy Roller, the league passed new rules in the off-season, restricting fumble advances by the offense. If a player fumbles after the two-minute warning in a half/overtime, or on fourth down at any time during the game, only the fumbling player can recover and advance the ball. If that player's teammate recovers the ball during those situations, it is placed back at the spot of the fumble, unless it was a recovery for a loss, in which case the ball is dead and placed at the point of recovery.\n\nThe Holy Roller play was directly referenced on December 14, 2014 in response to a critical play in the Green Bay Packers' loss to the Buffalo Bills. When Aaron Rodgers had the ball knocked out of his hand by Mario Williams, it rolled backwards into the end zone and came to a complete stop; Packer RB Eddie Lacy picked up the ball and tried to run with it, but the referee approached quickly, waving his hands to declare the play dead, and after talking to the back judge, signaled a safety for Buffalo. The NFL Director of Officiating said that since the Holy Roller rules were in place, the only player who could have picked up the fumble and advanced it for Green Bay was the original fumbler (Rodgers), and the safety call was correct.\n\nSee also\n Chargers–Raiders rivalry\n Holy Roller – The event's common name is a pun on this slang term in American religion.\n Fumblerooski – Other deliberate fumble plays.\n\nReferences\n\nSources \nTotal Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League ()\nAudio of the Holy Roller radio play-by-play by Bill King\n\nExternal links\n\n Box score at Pro-Football-Reference.com\n\n1978 National Football League season\nNational Football League games\nOakland Raiders\nSan Diego Chargers\nAmerican football incidents\nNational Football League controversies\n1978 in sports in California\nSeptember 1978 sports events in the United States",
"The 2015 season was the San Diego Chargers' 46th in the National Football League, their 56th overall and their third under head coach Mike McCoy. The team had its worst season since 2003 with a 4–12 record.\n\nOffseason\n\nSignings\n\nDepartures\n\nDraft\n\n|-\n| 4\n| colspan=7 align=center| None – see draft trades below\n|-\n\n|-\n| 7\n| colspan=7 align=center| None – see draft trades below\n|-\n\nNotes\n The Chargers traded their fourth-round selection (No. 117 overall) and 2016 fifth-round selection to the San Francisco 49ers to move up in the first round to select Melvin Gordon.\n The Chargers traded their seventh-round selection (No. 236 overall) to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for defensive tackle Sean Lissemore.\n\nStaff\n\nFinal roster\n\nSchedule\n\nPreseason\n\nRegular season\n\nNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.\n\nGame summaries\n\nWeek 1: vs. Detroit Lions\n\nThe Chargers started their season at home against the Lions. After falling behind 21-10 at halftime, the Bolts managed to outscore the Lions 23-7 in the second half of the game and win it 33-28.\n\nWith the win, the Chargers started their season 1-0 and improved to 5-0 all-time at home against Detroit.\n\nWeek 2: at Cincinnati Bengals\nThe Chargers would trail all game, and tried to come back towards the end of the game, but Philip Rivers threw an interception, sealing the game. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 1-1.\n\nWeek 3: at Minnesota Vikings\nThe Chargers once again would never lead during the game. The game was officially sealed when Chad Greenway returned an interception 91 yards down the sidelines for a touchdown. Adrian Peterson would rush for 126 yards on 20 attempts, including a 43-yard touchdown early in the third quarter on a play in which he ran through Charger defenders. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 1-2.\n\nWeek 4: vs. Cleveland Browns\nThe Browns would go down to tie the game with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. The Chargers would then get into field goal range for kicker Josh Lambo. Lambo attempted a 39-yard attempt, but the kick was no good, and the game appeared to be heading to overtime. However, the Browns were flagged for being offsides, as Tramon Williams jumped before the ball was snapped. The penalty gave Lambo a chance at redemption. This time, Lambo drilled the game-winning 34-yard field goal to give the Chargers the win. With the win, the Chargers improved to 2-2.\n\nWeek 5: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers\nThe Chargers took the lead after Josh Lambo made a 54-yard field goal with 2:56 remaining in the game. However, the Steelers, lead by Michael Vick, were able to march all the way down the field to score as time expired. The final play came on a wildcat formation call, as running back Le'Veon Bell took the direct snap and rushed in for the game winner as the clock expired. The play was reviewed, and the call stood, giving Pittsburgh the win. This game is also notable for the number of Steeler fans that showed up to the game. According to the attendance, there were over 1,000 Steeler fans in the crowd during this game, and whenever the Steelers would score, terrible towels would be waved all over the place, as if the game was being held at Heinz Field. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-3.\n\nWeek 6: at Green Bay Packers\n\nThe Chargers travel to Lambeau Field to take on Aaron Rodgers and the red-hot Green Bay Packers. However, despite a big day from Philip Rivers throwing for 503 yards, it wasn't enough to stun the Packers in Lambeau and they would go on to lose, 27-20.\n\nWith the close loss, the Chargers drop to 2-4.\n\nWeek 7: vs. Oakland Raiders\nThe Chargers would trail as much as 37-6 for most of the game. The Chargers would try to come back, and outscored Oakland 23-0 in the fourth quarter. However, it was not enough, as the Chargers lost 37-29. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-5.\n\nWeek 8: at Baltimore Ravens\nThe 1-6 Ravens took down the Chargers after Justin Tucker nailed the game winning 39-yard field goal as time expired. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-6.\n\nWeek 9: vs. Chicago Bears\nFor the second time this season, the Chargers home opponent's fans seemed to outnumber their own fans, as Bears fans were heard for most of the game. The Chargers would lead for most of the game. However, the Bears would go down to take the lead on a Zach Miller touchdown. Miller had to go airborne and made the catch with one hand. The grab would seal the win for the Bears. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-7.\n\nWeek 11: vs. Kansas City Chiefs\nThis game was originally going to be on Sunday Night Football, but was later changed to 4:25 after the Bengals-Cardinals game was flexed to Sunday Night. The Chiefs rattled the Chargers 33-3, and it was the first time the Chargers failed to score a touchdown since 2012 against the Falcons. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-8.\n\nWeek 12: at Jacksonville Jaguars\nThe Chargers were able to hold off a comeback by the Jaguars in the fourth quarter, and the Chargers got their first road win of the season. With the win, San Diego went to 3-8.\n\nWeek 13: vs. Denver Broncos\nFor the second time in 3 weeks, the Chargers would fail to score a touchdown, as they were only held to 3 points against a powerful Broncos defense. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 3-9.\n\nWeek 14: at Kansas City Chiefs\nFor the second time this season against the Chiefs, the Chargers did not score a touchdown. This game, however, was a lot closer, as the Chargers lost by a mere 7 points. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 3-10. They were outscored in the season series with Kansas City 43-6.\n\nWeek 15: vs. Miami Dolphins\n\nThe Chargers easily dominated the Dolphins, 30-14, to go to 4-10 in what some thought could've been the last game the Chargers played in San Diego.\n\nWeek 16: at Oakland Raiders\nThe Chargers would tie the game after Josh Lambo converted a 45-yard field goal attempt with 55 seconds remaining in regulation. In overtime, the Raiders would kick the go-ahead field goal on their first possession. The Chargers tried to go down the field to tie or win, but the comeback failed, and the Raiders held on for the win. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 4-11 and were swept by the Raiders for the first time since 2010.\n\nWeek 17: at Denver Broncos\nThe Chargers went to Denver to try and prevent the Broncos from clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs. Despite forcing 5 turnovers, the Chargers failed to convert them into points, as their offense struggled all afternoon. Brock Osweiler would later be benched, and Peyton Manning would enter the game for Denver. The Chargers would have the lead twice in this game, but lost them both. The game was officially put away after Ronnie Hillman ran for 23 yards for a touchdown to put the Broncos ahead for good. With the loss, the Chargers ended their season at 4-12, and also finished 0-6 against their division.\n\nStandings\n\nDivision\n\nConference\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nSan Diego\nSan Diego Chargers seasons\nSan Diego Chargers"
]
|
[
"Junior Seau",
"San Diego Chargers",
"When did Sanu play with the Chargers?",
"Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers",
"What position did he play?",
"I don't know.",
"What did he accomplish during his time with the Chargers?",
"Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles.",
"What else did he do?",
"He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994.",
"Did he haev any other notable achievements during this time?",
"Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX.",
"What else did he do with the Chargers?",
"In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck"
]
| C_3f0c8a40beef40daac998e1289ab7fe9_1 | How long did he stay with the Chargers? | 7 | How long did Junior Seau stay with the San Diego Chargers? | Junior Seau | After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon. Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. He was also voted NFL's Defensive MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year. He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994. That year, Seau was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury. CANNOTANSWER | In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl with an ankle injury. | Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Known for his passionate play, he was a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Originally from Oceanside, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans. He was chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft. Seau started for 13 seasons for the Chargers and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame and had his number 55 retired.
Seau died by suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at the age of 43. Later studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that has also been found in other deceased former NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma, and can lead to conditions like dementia, rage, and depression.
Early years
Seau was born on January 19, 1969 in Oceanside, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Seau Sr. and Luisa Mauga Seau of Aunu'u, American Samoa. Tiaina Sr.'s grandfather was a village chief in Pago Pago. Tiaina Sr. worked at a rubber factory and was a school custodian, and Luisa worked at the commissary of Camp Pendleton in Southern California and a laundromat. After Seau was born, the family moved back to American Samoa for several years before returning to San Diego; Seau did not learn to speak English until he was seven years old. At home, Seau and his three brothers had to sleep in the family's one-car garage.
Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League offensive MVP and led the 18-member Oceanside Pirates team to the San Diego 2A championship. Parade selected Seau to its high school All-American team.
In basketball, as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year. He helped his team win the 1987 Lt. James Mitchell Tournament and make third place in the Mt. Carmel Invitational. In track and field, he was the Avocado League champion in the shot put. Seau was also named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.
College career
After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC). He had to sit out his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.
Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.
He lettered in his final two seasons with the Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft selection. Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character. He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.
Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles. In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau. In 1992, he was awarded the George Halas Trophy by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the NFL's top defensive player, AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, as well as the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Linebacker of the Year.
He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl due to an ankle injury.
Miami Dolphins
On April 16, 2003, Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft choice. He started 15 games that season for the 9–7 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players. However, in 2004, a torn pectoral muscle limited Seau to eight games, 68 tackles, and one sack. He started five of the first seven games he played in with the Dolphins in 2005, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 with an achilles tendon injury. On March 6, 2006, Seau was released by the Dolphins.
New England Patriots
Seau announced his retirement at an emotional press conference on August 14, 2006. He called it his "graduation" because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life.
Seau returned to football just four days later, signing with the New England Patriots. He started 10 of the first 11 games for the Patriots, recording 69 tackles before breaking his right arm while making a tackle in a game against the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27.
On May 21, 2007, Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season. In September 2007, Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains. He was a prominent contributor to the Patriots undefeated regular season that year. He started four of the 16 games he played in for the Patriots in 2007, and then started the Patriots' two playoff games before Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. New England's undefeated streak ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
After the Patriots had a number of injuries late in the 2008 season, they re-signed Seau. He started two of four games he played. On December 22, 2008, a fan was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery for tackling Seau as he stood on the New England sideline during a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Seau stated that he did not feel threatened by the fan; he thought that the fan was happy and excited and got carried away.
On October 7, 2009, NFL Network reported that the New England Patriots had an "agreement in principle" with Seau for a fourth one-year deal; Seau took physicals and worked out with the team. He officially signed on October 13. He was active for 7 games for the Patriots in 2009, recording 14 tackles as a reserve linebacker.
Retirement
Seau announced his intention to retire permanently on the television program Inside the NFL on January 13, 2010.
NFL career statistics
Beyond football
His restaurant at Westfield Mission Valley in Mission Valley, California—Seau's The Restaurant, which opened in 1996—was his most successful business venture. Seau also had a clothing line, Say Ow Gear. The restaurant was closed May 16, 2012, just two weeks after his death; the trustees of his estate explained that "Without Seau's charismatic leadership, it was felt that the future profitability of the restaurant could be in question."
Sports Jobs with Junior Seau premiered on December 2, 2009, on Versus. The show followed Seau as he did the jobs that make sports work. Ten episodes aired through January 27, 2010.
Seau was actively involved with community work through Samoan "sister city" projects within San Diego County.
Junior Seau Foundation
In 1992, Seau created the Junior Seau Foundation with the mission to educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, recreational opportunities, anti-juvenile delinquency efforts and complementary educational programs.
The 20th Anniversary Junior Seau Celebrity Golf Classic was held March 10–12, 2012, at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
The Foundation gives out an annual award to the individual who exemplifies the mission statement of the Junior Seau Foundation.
2000 — Legend of the Year — Sid Brooks
2001 — Legend of the Year — Lance Alworth
2002 — Legend of the Year — Sid Gillman
2003 — Legend of the Year — Don Coryell
2004 — Legend of the Year — Marcus Allen
2005 — Legend of the Year — Deacon Jones
2006 — Legend of the Year — Bobby Ross
2007 — Legend of the Year — Warren Moon
2008 — Legend of the Year — Marshall Faulk
2009 — Legend of the Year — Charlie Joiner
2010 — Legend of the Year — John Lynch
2011 — Legend of the Year — Bill Walton
Personal life
In 1989, Seau's oldest son, Tyler, was born to Seau's high school sweetheart, Melissa Waldrop. Seau broke up with Waldrop when Tyler was 13 months old. He married Gina Deboer in 1991. The couple had three children together, a daughter and two sons, before divorcing in 2002. Seau's son Jake attended Duke University where he played lacrosse. In 2019, Jake signed with the Dallas Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Seau sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff in Carlsbad, California only hours after he was arrested for domestic violence following an incident reported to the police by his girlfriend at their home in nearby Oceanside. Seau stated that he fell asleep at the wheel, and was never charged in the domestic incident.
Seau's nephew, Ian Seau, committed to play at Nevada, and became an undrafted free-agent for Los Angeles Rams in 2016 as a defensive end. Then in 2017, Ian signed with the Bills. Another nephew, Micah Seau, committed to play for San Diego State. His cousin was Pulu Poumele.
Death
On May 2, 2012, Seau's girlfriend found him dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Oceanside. He left no suicide note, but did leave a piece of paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't". The song, co-written by his friend Jamie Paulin, describes a man who regrets the person he has become.
Seau's death recalled the 2011 suicide of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain be studied for brain trauma. Seau had no prior reported history of concussions, but his ex-wife said he did sustain concussions during his career. "He always bounced back and kept on playing," Gina Seau said. "He's a warrior. That didn't stop him." Seau had insomnia for at least the last seven years of his life, and he was taking zolpidem (Ambien), a prescription drug commonly prescribed for sleep disorders.
Seau's autopsy report released later in August 2012 by the San Diego County medical examiner indicated that his body contained no illegal drugs or alcohol, but did show traces of zolpidem. No apparent signs of brain damage were found, nor was he determined to have exhibited mood changes and irritability often apparent with concussions and brain damage.
There was speculation that Seau suffered brain damage due to CTE, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom, as dozens of deceased former NFL players were found to have suffered from CTE. Seau's family donated his brain tissue to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH; other candidates included the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Brain Injury Research Institute. Citing the Seau family's right to privacy, NIH did not intend to release the findings.
On January 10, 2013, Seau's family released the NIH's findings that his brain showed definitive signs of CTE. Russell Lonser of the NIH coordinated with three independent neuropathologists, giving them unidentified tissue from three brains including Seau's. The three experts along with two government researchers arrived at the same conclusion. The NIH said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
On January 23, 2013, the Seau family sued the NFL over the brain injuries suffered by Seau over his career. In 2014, his family continued to pursue the lawsuit while opting out of the NFL concussion lawsuit's proposed settlement, which was initially funded with $765 million. The family reached a confidential settlement with the league in 2018. The Seaus' attorney said that they were "pleased" with the resolution.
Legacy
Seau was known for his passionate playing style, including a fist-pumping dance he performed after big plays. Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News said Seau "probably was the most dynamic player of his era". NFL head coach Norv Turner, who coached Seau as well as faced him as an opponent, said, "The No. 1 thing about Junior was that he was such an explosive player he'd defeat one-on-one blocks and he was a great tackler."
Seau's quickness allowed him to freelance, which sometimes put him out of position. "People say he gambled a bit, but in reality, his insight led him to the ball ... Even when he was wrong, you had to account for him and that created problems for offensive coordinators. You'd better have somebody blocking him," said former NFL coach Tom Bass.
He was praised by teammates for his work ethic and leadership. He would play when hurt, and often refused to leave games. "He played the game the way it was meant to be played," said retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Bill Belichick, his coach at New England, praised Seau's leadership and willingness to accept any role.
He was named to the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams, which honor the top players and coaches in the team's history. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame on November 27, 2011, as part of Alumni Day ceremonies at a sold-out game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Fellow Chargers Hall of Famer Dan Fouts introduced Seau before a crowd of nearly 71,000.
Chargers President Dean Spanos honored Seau after his death as "...An icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn't just a football player, he was so much more." The Chargers retired his No. 55 during his public memorial. The Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre and Junior Seau Beach Community Center were renamed posthumously in his honor by the city of Oceanside in July 2012.
On September 1, 2012, during the University of Southern California's home opener, Seau was honored by the team. On September 16, 2012, the Chargers retired Seau's number 55 during a ceremony at the 2012 regular season home opener against the Tennessee Titans. The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted Seau into the Breitbard Hall of Fame on February 25, 2013, forgoing their normal two-year waiting period after an athlete's retirement or death.
Seau became eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. His eligibility was not accelerated due to his death from the standard five-year waiting period after a player's retirement. On January 31, 2015, Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he were ever to be inducted. However, the Hall of Fame cited a five-year policy of not allowing speeches for deceased inductees, denying Sydney the opportunity to introduce her father.
Instead, she was allowed to speak onstage for three minutes uninterrupted on the NFL Network, and delivered a pared down version of her full speech, which The New York Times published. Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
On September 21, 2018, ESPN released Seau, a 30 for 30 documentary that highlighted Seau's career, as well as the effects of his injuries on his life, his family, and his post-football endeavors.
See also
List of suicides
List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
References
External links
Seau Foundation
1969 births
2012 deaths
2012 suicides
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football linebackers
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American people of Samoan descent
American philanthropists
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Burials in California
Deaths by firearm in California
Miami Dolphins players
National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
New England Patriots players
Players of American football from California
Players of American football from San Diego
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
San Diego Chargers players
Sportspeople from Oceanside, California
Sportspeople from San Diego
Suicides by firearm in California
USC Trojans football players | false | [
"Brett Boyko (born August 4, 1992) is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL), San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), and BC Lions of the CFL. He played college football at UNLV.\n\nProfessional career\n\nCFL and NFL Drafts \nPrior to the 2015 NFL Draft Boyko gained interest from several NFL teams and he also participated in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, in February 2015. Boyko was ranked as the number one overall prospect in the Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau's September rankings heading into the 2015 CFL Draft and later fell to 2nd place in the December rankings. The uncertainty of whether he would stay in the NFL led Boyko to get drafted 14th overall in the 2015 CFL draft by the BC Lions. Despite the interest, Boyko was not drafted by any team in the 2015 NFL Draft.\n\nPhiladelphia Eagles\nBoyko was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2015. On September 4, 2015, Boyko was cut in the last round on preseason cuts. On September 6, 2015, Boyko was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad. On May 17, 2016, Boyko was released by the Eagles.\n\nSan Diego / Los Angeles Chargers\nOn June 2, 2016, Boyko signed with the Chargers. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Chargers. He was signed to the Chargers' practice squad on October 4, 2016. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chargers on January 3, 2017. On September 2, 2017, Boyko was waived by the Chargers and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 19, 2017. He was waived by the Chargers on December 29, 2017. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chargers on January 1, 2018. On September 1, 2018, Boyko was waived by the Chargers.\n\nSan Diego Fleet\nOn December 2, 2018, Boyko signed with the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league subsequently folded partway through its inaugural season, leaving Boyko as a free agent.\n\nBC Lions \nOn May 15, 2019, Boyko signed with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played in 15 games and started in five in 2019. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season and was released on February 12, 2021.\n\nSaskatchewan Roughriders\nBoyko signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on March 1, 2021.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n UNLV Rebels football bio\n Philadelphia Eagles bio\n\n1992 births\nLiving people\nSportspeople from Saskatoon\nPlayers of Canadian football from Saskatchewan\nAmerican football offensive guards\nAmerican football offensive tackles\nCanadian players of American football\nUNLV Rebels football players\nPhiladelphia Eagles players\nSan Diego Chargers players\nLos Angeles Chargers players\nSan Diego Fleet players\nBC Lions players\nSaskatchewan Roughriders players",
"Mike Windt (born May 29, 1986) is a former American football long snapper. He played college football at Cincinnati.\n\nCollege career\nWindt had an outstanding three-year career (2007–09) at the University of Cincinnati. Windt played well in 395 career snaps for the Bearcats.\n\nProfessional career\n\nCincinnati Bengals\nAfter going undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft, Windt signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a rookie free agent on April 24, 2010, he was later cut before the regular season.\n\nSan Diego / Los Angeles Chargers\nWindt was signed by the San Diego Chargers on October 13, 2010. Windt becomes the Chargers' long snapper in 2010. David Binn, James Dearth and Ryan Neill were all on Injured-Reserve and Ethan Albright snapped in the Chargers' last two games. Windt is arguably most famous for snapping the direct snap and participating in the blocking on the fake punt by Eric Weddle in the 2013 season finale that propelled the Chargers' winning drive that got the team into the 2013-14 postseason.\n\nOn March 8, 2017, Windt signed a four-year, $4.41 million contract extension with the Chargers.\n\nOn August 20, 2019, after playing nine consecutive seasons with the Chargers, he was released in favor of Cole Mazza who was signed that offseason.\n\nPersonal life\n\nWindt was originally born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Elder High School. He currently resides in San Diego, California with his wife. Windt also has an older brother and a younger sister.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nCincinnati Bio\nChargers Bio\n\n1986 births\nLiving people\nPlayers of American football from Cincinnati\nAmerican football long snappers\nCincinnati Bearcats football players\nCincinnati Bengals players\nSan Diego Chargers players\nLos Angeles Chargers players\nElder High School alumni"
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